


The Forgotten Fear: Series 4 Reboot

by BetterAngels195



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Death, Fear, Gen, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:48:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 62,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22155781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetterAngels195/pseuds/BetterAngels195
Summary: Disregarding the events of the crossover and picking up after the events of the dam in a retelling inspired by some of the ideas presented by the original showrunner's vision: The Clark family and friends find themselves in a world of danger struggling to find each another after being torn apart from the destruction of the dam. With the vengeful conqueror Proctor John and his vicious biker gang hot on their trails; In the end, who will rise? Who will survive?
Kudos: 13





	1. No Good Deed

**DISCLAIMER: This is a non canon, non profit fan written story. All characters from the TV show are owned by AMC and Robert Kirkman, not me. I'm just a dude writing this for shits and giggles.**

***Ka-boom!***  
The explosives burst at the base of the Gonzalez Dam. Madison, Alicia and Strand begin to panic revving the engine at full blast as the suction of the lake draining begins to pull them in. While they get closer to the crumbling gap in the wall, Madison gives one last longing look at her distraught son who's clinging onto the fence at the top of the collapsing structure. Her heart sinks with the sounds of the funneled waterfall inching itself closer with every resistant attempt to stop it failing.

"Oh sweet Jesus. What are we going to do..?" Strand frightfully gasps as they hit the divide.

"Everybody grab onto the boat!" Screams Madison as the three of them get swept into the raging spout.

Standing next to a patch of chaparral, Qaletaqa lets out a distraught, "North?", peering into the binoculars watching the events unfold. Lee standing next to him reiterates the same, before exchanging an unsettled look. The two begin packing up and walking away.

Everything goes black. Erratic flashes of Alicia screaming for her mother following the sound of heavy winds blowing through a microphone. Madison's eyes open, floating in the murky waters of the flooded Tijuana riverbank. With every ounce of strength she swims to the surface, bursting out of the water. Gasping for air being dragged down the bank, she manages to drift to the embankment. Plunging out of the water trying to catch her breath, her eyes glance around the waters watching as civilians all across from both sides filling their buckets and jugs. A young little girl walks up with a pale to Madison and greets her with a simple "Hola" to which Madison shakily reiterates, letting out a faint smile towards the hope that's been brought to the people just before her eyes grow heavy and she passes out once more.

"Oye! No te vayas corriendo sin nosotros, Angelina." Says a pretty, early 20s, young Hispanic woman with long dark brown hair in a ponytail walking onto the shoreline behind the little girl. Her eyes glance downwards observing a battered, out cold Madison and utters. "Quien es ella?"

_Darkness fades around Madison, she looks around to see nothing but an empty abyss surrounding her. Looking down, the ground only seems to get darker the more she stared at it, seemingly heaving almost as if it's alive. Among the shadows, she hears an ominous familiar voice cackling in the distance as the figure begins fully comes into focus to reveal an unsettling face._

_"Good to see you again...Madison. You miss me?" The figure eerily questions, materializing to be the deceased Troy Otto who lets out a sinister laugh and waves at her, continuing. "Nahh. Not you. You don't miss a thing..."_

_***Krak!*** Blood starts pouring down the side of his face, ignoring his wound, threateningly pressing closer to her. "Even after you put a damn spoon in my eye, I was the one who brought you to the ranch. All the times I've protected your 'precious' children for you. All I wanted was to be with you and you manipulated my trust, killed my own father, and than even continued to sleep in that very house." Brutally stating, slowly shuffling forward. "And you'd tell me I'm the one who's a monster?"_

_Madison goes to back away and he stops in front of her as she snaps back. "You are a monster and you were turning Nick into one too! You had to be stopped!"_

_Troy bursts into a quick laugh and retorts. "So that's what you think of your son? I mean, I kind of thought so too. He's...he's a scary man after all...Unafraid, oblivious to all the danger that surrounds him. Just a ticking time bomb waiting until complete self destruction. A danger to everyone and himself."_

_"Shut up..he's not like that!" An aghast Madison lowers her head, staring ominously into the ghastly depths below._

_With a half cocked smirk, he continues, "Don't be coy, you and I both know that isn't true...Like father, like son right?"A menacing Troy snickers once more growing a smile from ear to ear, "Beware what lies inside the box Madison...For as you are, once was I. As I am now..."_

_***Krak!*** His left temple suddenly explodes a second time and he falls into the floor becoming consumed into the blackened floor. Troy's maniacal laughs begin to echo, morphing into a deep warped growl, howling from all angles, all of which begin to merge together thunderously roaring in unison like an awoken monster arising from it's cave..._

**FEAR THE WALKING DEAD**

_**The Forgotten Fear** _

  
**A fan written continuation based on the series created by Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman**

Madison's eyelids slowly lift open, dazed and bewildered, awaking in a small cramped room with nothing but a table dresser, some child's clothes and a mattress. Small bits of light peer through cracked, newspaper plastered glass in the top corner of the room, enough to illuminate the room to make out what was in it. Her eyes shift across the dimly lit, damp area, inspecting it's every stonewalled crevice. She realizes she's been stripped of her weapons, her holster empty. On the ground, a slightly jagged piece of rock lies a few inches away from the bed. She attempts to reach out to grab it when a paper plate with an apple on it next to the rubble catches her attention briefly.

 ***Thump. Thump. Thump.*** A sound of footsteps approaching the door. Madison quickly snatches the rock, hides it under her pillow and turns to the side to pose as if she's sleeping. The tattered door slowly cracks open, bringing a blinding light into the room revealing a silhouette of middle aged average size Hispanic man with a stubble goatee. He begins to walk into the room, but promptly stops in his tracks and looks down to the ground towards the apple then back to Madison.

"I know you are awake señora." He posits, right hand hovering over the back of his waist and the other holding something folded into squares. "You can quit the act, I know what you are doing."

Taken back by his response, knowing the jig was up, she rolls towards him and snides. "Well, you aren't dumb." Madison goes to sit up but a sudden sharp pain shoots down her body, letting out a meek " _God dammit!_ ".

"You strained yourself climbing out of the riverbed, I wouldn't suggest moving much for a few days at least," Cautiously keeping his distance, he remarks. "My two daughters Angelina and Isabelle found you coming out of the water. I take it you have something to do with the flooding?"

Madison doggedly remains quiet, gazing away from the man standing in the doorway.

"I see.. Well that flooding saved my family and the people from thirst. My name is Ramón Sánchez."

"Madison Clark." She asserts and questions. "I'm looking for my kids...Did you see any other Americans where you found me?"

Ramón loosens up, lowering his arms to his side and despondently replies. "Lo siento Madison Clark, no. We were forced to leave shortly after the Malditos showed up. Seemed like you were in need of help, so we took you with us back to our home."

"Shit." She depressively mutters to herself. With a hint of suspicion Madison dubiously notes, "That's pretty noble of you, pretty rare to see during these times. What's the catch?"

"No catch. You were injured and in danger señora." Setting her clothes on the ground, he turns around towards the door. "Rest easy Madison Clarke. Eat some food, here's some dry clothes, and come join us when you are ready." Leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

Bewildered by the man's kindness, Madison grabs the rock from under the pillow, setting it back on the ground and stares at the apple. 

The sun begins to set shortly before it turns to dusk as Madison stumbles out of the room clutching the wall on the way out. Pushing the door open she's met with Ramón and his two daughters eating from cans of refried beans at a kitchen table sitting in the middle of the small, cramped room.

"Ella esta despierta." The eldest daughter says to her father.

Ramón turns to see Madison and questions, "Evening señora. How are you feeling?"

"Definitely not a million dollars...not that it means much anymore." Sneering and then grabs on her holster. "Where's my weapons? I need to get going."

"They are sitting behind me on the counter, you are welcome to have them back, but if you plan to go back out there, I ask instead that you stay. You are in no condition to make it out there."

Tremulously walks over to the counter to grab her Berreta 84 and hammer, Madison answers back, "I'll take my chances...I thank you for your hospitality, but I need to get out and find them before it's too late." She holsters the gun, grabs the hammer and turns around to Ramón once more demanding. "Where's the way out?... Or is this the part where you tell me there is no way out?"

Ramón's nostrils flare as he releases an exhaustively frustrated grunt and assures, "I won't keep you against your will, the door is around the corner, but please I ask of you to think about it overnight."  
"I can't. I'm sorry." Madison states, going in a brief trance staring at the two young women and then continues out towards the door. "Thanks again, but goodbye."

Looking at his two daughters, both of whom brood at him, and he aggravatingly mutters, "No me mires asi. Que esperas que yo haga."

The sky glows an orange hue as the sun sets upon the partly clouded horizon. Madison steps outside to a browning parched overgrown yard surrounded by a makeshift fence made out of plywood and planks, thinly held together with nails and wire with a fence clearly welded out of sheet metal. Sturdy enough to not fall apart, but not great for long term. Cinderblocks lay against the small decrepit house where unfinished construction of a front porch remains.

Walking outside the fence and onto the trash covered roads that lead left and right, both directions leading to 4 way intersections. Abandoned cars litter the streets at roughly three a block, everywhere in both directions, some overturned and some charred from a past lit flames. She begins walking down the street towards an upright abandoned car, her legs and body still sore from the swim, causing a slight limp in her movements. Down a graveled alley, an ominous slackjawed infected man, clothes all torn and covered in blood, vacantly stares as she passes by.

Reaching for the handle after cautiously inspecting the windows of the empty car. Opening up the door, she notices the keys still left in the ignition, leaving a smug grin on her face. Reaching in to turn the key, it seems to only click like the battery is dead. Trying it a couple more times, oblivious to the figure coming behind her, she stands back growling at the vehicle with a snarky "God damn it".

Suddenly, a bloody torn up hand latches on her denim jacket and Madison swivels around to see an infected man snarling, snapping at her. Grappling her hand underneath his throat as he rushes towards her, she side step tosses the undead man into the side of the car, smashing the driver side window with it's head. Madison painfully staggers from the strain, grunting a pathetic "ah shit!".

The infected man forces himself up, glass shards glittered around his face, snarling at her. Madison fumbles out her hammer shakily sliding it out of her belt, taking it out bashing him right in the jaw. Knocking it out of place and tearing the skin off partially revealing the broken teeth underneath.

Unfazed by his injuries, the unrelenting undead man continues propelling at her, knocking her to the ground. With no strength, she struggles fending him off, his crooked gnashing mouth inching closer and closer, bits of coagulated blood dripping on her cheek, when...

 ***Shik!***  
The infected's body goes limp as a blade pierces the back of it's skull. The corpse gets thrown to the side by Ramón, who berates her. "I told you didn't I? You are not strong enough yet. Come back to the house."

"I have to find them Ramón, I can't stop. My children are in danger and bad men are looking for them." Reiterates an anxious Madison as she stands back up, turning her back to her savior, continuing forward towards another vehicle.

"And how are you supposed to find them with no idea where they could be? It's been hours since then, think Madison." He continues as she keeps limping away, ignoring him. "Madison, stop!..Maldita sea...There is a man who might be able to help."

Pausing in her footsteps, with eyes glimmering a faint sense of hope, she turns her head to the side letting out a frantic. "Who? Where?".

"A bar owner a few miles from here. He's shady, but if word is going around then most likely he's heard of it. I'll take you there mañana, but only if you rest the night."

Her anxious eyes longingly linger upon the backdrop of the city.

"Madison."

"Fine." She answers, turning back towards him. "But we leave at first light."

The cloudless sky turns black, as the night sprawls over the region, with the bright dots of stars poking through. Madison lies in the backroom on the mattress, eyes wide open staring at nothing but the ceiling. Quietly getting up and walking out of the room into the kitchen, moonlight shining through the cracks of the boarded windows, she sees Ramón sitting at the table with his head perched down emitting sonorous guttural heaves. Trying hard not to wake him, she creeps along the floor, small creaking sounds echoing as she walks to one of the windows peering onto the street barely able to make anything out, but wandering shadows.

"Bed not comfortable?" Ramón's voice whisperingly creeps, startling Madison.

She jerks around to see him sitting upright, replying softly to him, "Can't sleep. Too many thoughts racing. Hard to sleep when you know whats out there."

Letting out a meek moan as Ramón stretches, rubbing his eyes, "Lack of sleep can be trouble to the mind Madison. Sometimes more dangerous then the dead. Worried about your children?"

"Of course. The amount of times I've lost them, just to get them back, only for it all to start again. Goddamn god's sick twisted joke and I'm sick of it." Breathing in deep, she asks. "So what about yours? Doesn't it keep you up in the night wondering what'd happen if you weren't around to protect them?"

"Every day. Out there is a world of violence and sin. The things we've seen people do is...better left unsaid. I try to keep hope of a better tomorrow for my daughters." He empathizes, but then reassures. "Don't worry Madison, you'll get them back."

Her demeanor gets cold, turning back to stare at the outside, "But in what way? Every time we get separated, they grow further away from the children I know. After all this, who knows what they'll become."

"Maybe, what people are becoming was what they always were. Before we were hiding under the guise of a 'civilized' society. With no more authority, no law, no government; Only in the dark do we show our true self."

The moonlight glazes over Madison's angled face, forehead crinkling with a scowl. Her hollowed eyes entranced by a silhouette of a person staggering around outside the gate, white knuckling her holster. As the figure wanders off, her death grip loosens up, letting go of her waist. She turns back around and walks towards her bedroom door muttering to Ramón. "I should try to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"Buenas noches señora. Until then."

_Drifting a couple years back to their old house in El Sereno, a wistful Madison sits on the living room couch staring at an old picture of her children and another man (who looks like Stephen Dillane, out of laziness of not wanting to make a description), everyone all smiling. A young Nick, roughly 10 years old, hangs off the man's arms, while a young Alicia stands next to her mother, clutching her shirt. Her fingers slowly drag across the man and a tear falls onto the photo, splattering over the man's face, distorting it._

_Travis walks into the room frustratingly clutching the phone to his side. He notices the moisture in Madison's eyes and asks, "Everything okay Maddy?"_

_"Ye...yeah. Just got to thinking of some old memories with Steven and the kids." Shakily replying, wiping her face and snorting through her nose. "So who called?"_

_"Eliza. She says the principal at Chris' school wants to have a meeting with us. Says his grades are dropping, that he got in a fight with one of the kids at his school." Hopelessly answers, sitting down next to her. "I don't know what to do. He doesn't listen to anything I say anymore, half the time he doesn't even want to look at me or spend time with me. It's like he blames me for moving on with you."_

_"He'll come around eventually. We just have to give him some time. Kids his age, they lash out and coupling that with the divorce along with us being together now." She states, wrapping her arms and pressing herself against him. "It's just something that's going to take time and patience. He'll come around eventually. It'll be okay Travis."_

_"Yeah, you're right..." He sighs. "So have you heard from Nick?"_

_"No. Hasn't spoken a word to me since I had him committed to Live Oak." Broods Madison. "What am I going to do when he turns 18 and runs off again? I can't force him into rehab, I can't call the police to have them bring him home. I won't be able to stop him forever..."_

_Wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer. "Then we'll do whatever we can for as long as we can, together."_

_Scoffing at him, her eyes drift upon his soft half cocked grin and the two share a kiss. Pulling each other closer, she mutters on his chest, "I think I'd lose my mind if you weren't here. You're a good man Travis, far too good for this ugly world...I love you."_

_"Now don't make yourself too sick trying to say that now," Travis snickers, putting a smile on her face._

_"I love you too Maddy...I'll always be here for you."_

Transitioning away from the long forgotten evocation, Madison lays arms crossed on Ramón's extra bed in pitch black, with only the slight bit of moonlight peering through the newspaper plastered window. Her eyes open wide, drifting miles into the ceiling, glaring into the darkness of the concrete. Giving in, she turns to her side and a single tear drops onto the pillow.

Light begins to peer through the cracks of the newspaper tinted windows. Still laying on the bed, eyes remaining stationary to the ceiling, she gets up and walks back out into the kitchen. Ramón's voice echoes in an elevated tone from a back room, the sound of a young woman bickering back at him catches her attention. The argument seems to get heated and Ramón slams the door open.

Coming out of the room, he's startled by Madison standing in the kitchen, remarking, "Oh, you're awake. Buenos días Madison, apologies if our bickering woke you up. My eldest isn't very fond of me taking you to El Canalla."

"That's fine. Couldn't sleep anyways. Are we ready to go?"

"Yes. We'll go on foot. Less attraction from the Malditos and La Maña. Should make it within a few hours, without any problems that is. Just let me go grab my things, we will need something in trade. I've got our jugs we've filled up on the river, if need be we can always get more." Ramón goes back into the backroom, after a few minutes, comes back out with a few gallons of water and the two set out.

Dawn breaks into the sky, lighting up the city of Tijuana with a hazy orange glow beginning a new day. Walking down the dilapidated streets to their destination, the once thriving city life was now reduced to a barren waste of death and misery.

Ramón notices a limp in Madison and breaks the silence stating, "So how are you feeling today Madison? Any better?"

"I'll feel better when I talk to this guy you mentioned. Tell me more of this 'Canalla'. You mentioned he was questionable? Is there anything we need to worry about?" Sternly reversing the conversation, sidestepping the issue.

"Heh, 'El Canalla' was just a name given to him for his sly nature. He was associated with smuggling for Cartel and immigrants in Narco tunnels before the Maditos arose." Ramón states, scoffing at the nickname. "After the rise, with the Cartel gone, he's now set up in a bar just south of Empleados Federales. Sells just about anything you'd need for the right price. With people coming and going, he hears just about anything."

Sarcastically she sneers, "Sounds like a real stand up guy."

As the two come crossing a highway bridge holding rows of desert palms on one side and on the other black pines, a sound of echoing gunfire breaks their conversation. Walking down to the edge of the bridge peeking over the side of the railing onto the street below, down a block they see a man and a woman being dragged out of a pharmacia by a couple of armed men in black leather coats. The woman pleads to their captors, as they precede to beat the man to death, after which they then turn their attention back to the woman, dragging her back into the building as she screams for help.

Ramón stands, staring in shock at the brutality. Coldly turning away with a disgusted look, Madison continues onward, reflecting "There's nothing that we can do. The longer we stay, the more of a risk of exposure. We need to keep moving." Hesitantly he drifts away from the side and they continue on. 

They get towards the end of the crossing, Madison looks back at him, questioning. "Given everything out here, do you feel alright leaving your children unattended?"

"It's definitely a worry, but I feel for your cause. That's the only reason I am doing this." Remarking with unease, looking behind him periodically. "Though we chose the home we did for safety. Banditos are less likely to raid places that'd seem rundown. Warehouses, businesses, stores; areas of which that would potentially hold more resources are the bigger targets. So long as they stay inside like I told them, it shouldn't be an issue."

"That's smart for now, at least until those places run dry. After that, people will get desperate, and when people get desperate; nowhere is safe." Madison proclaims as the two pass off the bridge next to a parking garage with ply wood stretching all over. Splats of graffiti stetching across the plywood to the end of the street. "At least in a group, you'll have others that will watch your back."

Ramón snickers contrastingly, "Pardon me señora, but it sounds like being in a group has fared you no better than it is now."

She heavily sighs, "It's a double edged sword. Fear divides those closest to you, causes them to do things they'd otherwise not do."

"Is that what happened with your group?"

"In a way." Madison stoically remarks as the two take a right down the street, infected looming in the background behind them. "We were taken in by this man who's daughter had been bitten. One of the other guys in our group was afraid of what he might do after this revelation, so he betrayed us, sold the sanctuary we were at to some assholes in exchange for our freedom. Things went sour and we were all forced to run. Barely even made it out alive. I got separated from my children in the river and now here I am."

"Sounds like it's been quite the journey. Hopefully you'll find what you need, we're here." He states as the two happen upon the orange front building of the former plaza, all entrances boarded up, reinforced or blocked off. Large painted words hang along the top of the building reading 'Welcome To Tijuana'. Ramón adds. "We'll need to go around the side to get in."

Walking down an enclosed walkway to the opening, they approach two armed guards holding AK-74s standing at the end. Ramón looks back to Madison and plights "I'll do the talking."

The two men step out in front blocking their way, one of them starts commanding. "Estás aquí para comerciar?"

"Si. Tenemos agua para comerciar, está disponible Canalla." Ramón answers, showing them the jug.

"No hay problema, él estará en el mostrador." Stepping to the side letting them pass onto the open area.

Walking passed the guard Madison quietly chortles to Ramón, " _That was easy_." To which he smirks back to her.

Walking on the left side straight ahead to the saloon, they see on top of the doors reading 'Viva Mexico', with a two part window frame door entrance. Walking inside they see a row of tables, with men wearing dusters, plaid shirts and western hats sitting at them playing poker, some sitting at the bar talking to the bartender and some sitting at random tables drinking liquor out of shot glasses. One of the poker players gets angry at another player, accusing him of cheating and pulls a Lemat revolver on him.

As the argument intensifies, an armed guard at the front approaches the men at the table and the bartender a tall man wearing reading glasses, a suit jacket and a dress shirt underneath with a pocket watch hanging on the side, walks out the back yelling, "Corta la mierda ahora mismo o haz que te corte la mierda! Su decisión."

"Este pedazo de mierda gilipollas está engañando!" The aggravated man replies back.  
Looking at his guard and to the accused, he orders, "Quinn, Búscalo."

The guard goes up to the accused man and begins frisking him. Underneath his sock the guard pulls out an Ace of Spades. Crinkling his forehead, the displeased bartender commands, "Llevarlo afuera. Enseñe a este fraude una lección."

The guard drags the man passed Madison and Ramón, getting thrown onto the curb and before the doors fully shut, Madison witnesses the cheating man getting brutally beaten. Ignoring this, the two walk forward to the front of the bar, approaching the bartender who's face suddenly shifts into a smile, with a gleeful welcoming, "Hola amigos. Cómo puedo ser de servicio? Tenemos comida, licor, casi cualquier cosa que necesites."

Ramón answers. "Solo información para mi amigo americana."

"Americana eh?" He smirks and look towards Madison. "I might be of service. Got anything to trade señorita?"

They hand him the couple gallons, to which the slithery man inspects the jugs and begins laughing. "Buen. Buen. So what did you need to know?"

"I was separated from my children a day ago, I just need to know if you've heard anything about some americans. A boy, 19, thin with light brown ratty hair, a girl, 18, with long light brown hair and a smooth talking african american man who speaks good Spanish. Names are Nick, Alicia and Victor." Madison quickly replies. "Please. I need to know."

Sitting in a back corner, a bearded caucasian man wearing a black duster jacket, with a black cowboy hat tilts his head up to overhear the conversation.

Shaking his head disappointingly to Madison who's hopeful eyes drown out in sorrow, Canalla answers, "Lo siento señorita. I have not. There has been talk of americanos going against the Proctors at the dam, if that's what you are looking for. But I'm afraid that's all I've heard." Watching the hope drain from her face, he adds. "If you'd like, you come back mañana. I'll drudge up some information maybe. Come up with something more useful. On the house even, since you've made the trip and already paid. Does that work?"

Looking back at Ramón, then back at Canalla, she tries to muster a fake smile replying, "Ye..yeah. Sure. Thank you."

"My pleasure, miss...?"

"Madison."

"Madison...Okay." With an unrelenting smile he continues. "Just give your name to my men outside on your way in and they'll let you on through. Safe travels now."

Ramón and Madison turn around, walking out of the building. Eavesdropping in the back corner, head perched down with his cowboy hat overshadowing his face and one eye peeking upwards watching the two leave the building, the man precedes to get up.

Walking outside, the poker cheater lies in a bloody mess on the ground, spitting up blood, crying, and letting out strained shallow breaths. The two walk passed trying to ignore him continuing onward back home.

Walking down the bridge they crossed earlier, Ramón turns to Madison apologizing, "I'm sorry we couldn't get any answers. Maybe better luck tomorrow."

"I've never been one for hope, but 'hopefully'." Madison utters. "Thank you for doing all this Ramón. Taking me in, helping me out like this. I'm just a stranger, you shouldn't have done that."

"If I hadn't, you'd be uno de los muertos. I only did what I thought was right, I would hope others would do the same for me or my children if I were in the same position."

"That's alot of faith you put in people." Snarks Madison. "May I ask a question Ramón?"

"Faith is all we got these days señora. But si, go right ahead."

Answering back she replies, "Your English is pretty good. So what did you do before all this?"

Snarking back at her, "Living near the border, my father thought I should learn English and taught me growing up. Helped when I was working as a gas station superintendent, especially when tourists would come by. I must say, it's a confusing language."

The two share a laugh and she adds, "That's funny. Here I've thought spanish was the confusing one. All this time in Baja and I'm still lucky if I can make a coherent sentence."

Giving a friendly smile, he reiterates back to her, "So what about you Madison, what did you do before this?"

"I was a Guidance Counselor at a highschool in Los Angeles. Life as a troubled kid, having my own troubled kids, it only seemed right with the experiences I've dealt with that I'd try to help curb others from similar paths."

"You miss it?" He curiously notes.

A tender smile grows on her face. "Working with the kids? Sure. The needs and wants were easy. Alot of times they just wanted someone to talk to." The smile depressingly fades. "Though it doesn't matter much anymore, a distant memory that feels like a lifetime ago. In that sense, yeah, I miss it."

As the two pass by the overlook to the pharmacia where the couple were attacked, Madison glances over in disgust and notices the woman's stripped, practically bare body now laying side by side with the man, puddles of blood surrounding them both.

"We should keep our voices down. Always feels like there are eyes watching when you are out here. Best to keep one step ahead and keep going." Madison whispers as the two march on.

A couple hours pass with the sun nearing dusk, the two reach Ramón's house. Bursting out his door comes his two daughters yelling "Papa!" rushing towards him, hugging him. Madison tilting her head to see any nearby infected, gladly seeing none.

"Qué te he dicho!?: 'Quédate adentro todo el tiempo'. Nunca se sabe lo que hay aquí." He authoritatively scolds. "Ahora vuelve adentro."

His two daughters rush back inside. Ramón remarks, "Kids. They never listen." and the two get a quick laugh in. "So shall we go inside?"

"Sure, what's for supper?" Madison scoffs.

"The best canned food you have ever eaten." Ramón laugingly replies, as the two go through the front door.

Out through the alleyway around the corner, a pair of dark blue jean pants, with big black boots sticking out. Seeing the two go inside, the beholder turns back around going back down the alleyway.

Inside the house, Ramón prepares some food, Madison sits in her temporary room. The door suddenly opens up with the eldest daughter Isabelle walking in.

"Gracias for bringing back our father." Isabelle states with a hint of indifference. "Papa told me to tell you 'dinner will be ready soon'".

Isabelle walks back out the door with the youngest, Angelina walking in right after with a bright yellowish orange Marigold flower obviously picked recently from outside and hands it to Madison softly saying "Lo siento por los que perdiste" before promptly walking out, leaving Madison with a confused gentle smile.

Putting everything down, Madison walks back out into the kitchen where Ramón lays out some canned beans and canned peaches with Angelina and Isabelle both sitting at the right side to the small table. Madison goes to sit in the back near the wall, Ramón sits down on the edge of the table by her side. Just as Madison sticks a fork in, he stops her. Looking at his daughters, they all tilt their heads down, aside from Madison who sits aside.

The kids clasp their hands together, following Ramón who phrases, "Bendícenos Señor, bendice estos alimentos que por tu bondad vamos a recibir, bendice las manos que los prepararon dale pan al que tiene hambre y hambre de ti al que tiene pan. Amén."

"Amén." His daughters both voice in unison, to which they all begin eating.

Couple hours pass into nighttime, Ramón comes out from the back room uttering, "Buenas noches, nos vemos en la mañana" while Madison sits at the table yet in the dim lit room, with one small candle in the middle of the table to light it up enough to barely see. Walking over towards a cabinet next to a fridge, he opens it up to pull out a partially drunken bottle of whiskey and a couple glasses.

"Being it's both our last night here, I was thinking we could have a couple glasses in good faith. Though I take it from earlier you aren't much of a believer in that, are you?" Ramón posits.

Going from sitting back to sitting upright, Madison replies. "I'm a believer in a good drink and good company. Rest hasn't ever done much for me. What you got?"

Holding the bottle up towards the candle revealing the label, "Sierra Norte Whiskey. Picked it up from a home we held up in, without my daughters knowing of course. They never approved of it. I kept it in case... I was alone... but, this works being in good company." Pouring each a glass, the two clink the glasses and take a drink. Questioning out of the blue, Ramón heaves out into a whisper, "So out of a lack of things to talk about these days, what do you think all this is?"

Pausing briefly, her eyes drop down before rising back up cryptically answering, "Hard to say. I've heard many different theories, can't say I agree with them. Closest I can say I agree with is that this is just an event like the Black Plague or the Spanish Flu, that we'll just have to endure till the end and either adapt or die." Taking a drinking reiterating back to him. "So what do you think Ramón? Wrath of God? Government conspiracy? Nature?"

"A test." He calmly asserts.

"That's, vague? What kind of test?"

Taking a swig, finishing the glass, letting out a hefty laughing sigh, he answers. "I believe we are being judged on our past sins to see if we deserve our place in the world to come. Not the end, but maybe the beginning of something new and we just have to earn our way there."

A friendly Madison scoffs mockingly, bottoming her glass also, "They say 'history repeats', that we 'walk in circles', but It's going to take a bit more than the dead rising to convince me; and alot more liquor. Neither of which we have time for tonight."

Shaking his head with a smile, Ramón laughs, "Tan cínico. So what about another glass? We got time for that don't we?"

"I suppose I could stomach another, though not too much more. Eating only canned beans and an apple, that's just playing with fire." Madison says and then jokes. "Just stop me if I start dancing on the table. Maybe you'll be able convince me of these ideas of yours."

Pouring each a glass, he jabs back, "I'd say it's worth a shot." and the laugh, clinking their glasses together and take a drink.

A little while passes, Madison is closing the bedroom door, whispering to Ramón "Goodnight" who returns with a "Buenos noches" both with a slight slur. She shuts the door, stumbling through the dark towards the bed and plops down on it, whispering to herself, "What an idealist..." her tone goes somber. "admirable... but reckless". Turning to face the ceiling, she continues, "I guess we'll see how things pan out in the morning", closing her eyes, she drifts to sleep.

_Fading to black, returning to the abyss once again hearing that familiar cackling from the once charismatic frenemy. Frantically pacing back and forth, looking around to see nothing but pitch black. Uttering from the void, the former Otto calls out, "Is it the idea that you don't agree with? Or are you just afraid to answer for the things you've done? Or better yet, the things you will do..."_

_Running around the infinite shadows looking for him, she continues to hear his haunting voice echoing in a loop nearly unison on repeat, "This is only the beginning.", "To kill the monster", "You become the monster", "You know what you must do", and "End it",_

_The insanity forces Madison to her knees, bawling out her lungs, "Enough!"._

_Everything goes silent. The sound of her heart beating reverberating throughout the crepuscular vacuum. Bodies begin to rise upon the shadowed floor, an arm shoots up latching on her wrist. As it's face moves from the shadows, pulling her closer in horror, as a zombiefied older man in a business suit belches out a guttural "Darling...". Panicking, she manages to get away from his grasp by kicking away. Groups of arms begin to shoot out of the shadows appearing all all over grappling her, dragging her towards the 'ground'. Grasping tightly onto her body, sinking slowly, becoming engulfed by dark, black flames which begin swirling and consuming her entire body. Desperately wiggling to break free from her captors, she manages to pull her hand away and reaches upward, drowning in the nothingness..._

Awaking from the nightmare, the light begins to peering through the cracks of the newspaper. Wiping her eyes, she begrudgingly gets up letting out a pained groan getting off the ground. Walking out the door, she surprisingly sees Ramón, Angelina and Isabelle all sitting at the table eating a can of food.

"Buenos días señora, wanted to see you out, so we made you breakfast. Figured you'd be a little uhh, famished, from last night." He cheerily remarks.

A little flabbergasted, she goes and sits at the table, returning with a humble, "Thanks. Or uh, 'Gracias'."

To which she gets a simple reiterated from the three of them. "De nada."  
The three put their hands together to say their grace, with Madison slowly and dubiously putting her's together also, which a sly Ramón peeks his eyes open to smirk at. Afterwards they begin to eat.

After the meal, they all follow Madison out to the gate with the children standing side to side with Ramón. Gifting her a gallon of bottled water and a can of beans in a backpack, Ramón notes to Madison, "For your travels".

Her smile grows and falls into a heartfelt, lip biting frown, "Thank you Ramón, what you have done and what this means to me...I can't ever repay you."

"I just did what I'd hope others would do for me if I were in the same position. Safe travels, Madison Clark from Los Angeles. Best of luck to you."

She nods at him, smiling at the children, she throws the bag over her shoulder and turns around walking away. Before getting a block away, looking back, still seeing them standing there, she looks back and waves one last time, before continuing on the journey.

Wandering alone, the trip to Canalla's bar is quiet for the most part, only stopping briefly for a small horde of infected, roughly 15-20, to slowly pass through the overpass of the bridge before allowing her to cross with no incidents. Crossing the bridge, she sees the couple that got attacked, now being gnawed on by the undead. Looking down onto them, her eyes squint in disgust. Walking up to the enclosed marketplace with the large logo upfront reading "Welcome to Tijuana", she circles around to the passageway that leads into the enclosure.

Going into the walkway with the two guards from the day before. Pushing their authoritative presence, they stand in her way before she exclaims, "I was told I could come through, my name is Madison."Looking at her briefly, they nod and let her through. Pressing forward towards the entrance to the bar, she looks at the ground where the cheater from the day before once laid, only for there to be a lingering blood stain.

Walking to the two window framed doors, she opens it up. A group of men playing poker sit at the same table yet, looking around the room, a larger group of people than the day before all around the bar, sipping on their drinks. Walking through the opening, and towards the accustomed bartender who looks up at her with a smile growing ear to ear, "Madison Clark! What a pleasure it is to see you again."

The men sitting at a few of the tables all turn their heads, of which she notices, creeping closer to the counter cautiously with her hand next to her side near the holster. In a back corner booth, two men put their drinks down, one wearing a blue denim jacket over a black shirt with a red bandana hung around his neck and a tilted large duster hat covering his face, shifts his head slightly to the noise dropping his hand slowly to his side reaching for his holster.

Feeling a tinge of hostility in the air, feeling a bit of trepidation, Madison quickly scans the room while drawing her gun and jolts back to Canalla calling him out, "What is this? What's going on here?"

Six men all stand up surrounding her, only three of which armed with a gun. Ignoring her questions, Canalla interrogates, "Your name is 'Madison Clark', from Los Angelas, right? You've made quite a name around these parts. In fact The Proctors have set out bounties for a blonde woman woman, her children, and a couple amigos too. While I have no interest with outside affairs, I am otherwise been compensate to turn the cheek. Lo siento señora, business is business."

The six men all draw their weapons to their side, and the man in the black duster from the day before walks a foot forwards towards the back of Madison proclaiming, "I followed you and your compadre to his home, figured you were staying there too. On the off chance you made it here first, we would be waiting. Which is fine by me, we wanted the full reward anyways, not just the scraps."

Confused, Madison turns behind her towards him and questions, "What do you mean by 'made it here first'?"

The man grows a menacing smile, "We contacted the Proctors, told them we found their sought after matriarch at a home in Libertad. Probably storming that house as we speak."

"You son of a bitch, they'll kill them! They weren't involved. They didn't do anything wrong!" Madison growls, aiming it at his head causing a Mexican standoff. Guns pointed on all sides with one in front of her, just behind the bounty hunter holding a SAA revolver, and two on her side where one is slightly obscured behind her vision, both holding 9mm pistols.

"I'm sorry, but there is no way out of this. You either come with us to the Proctors or we kill you now and die trying. These are the only options you have now Ms. Clark. I recommend the former, but considering the Proctors, the latter might be the better option." He declares extending his right hand out to her.

Madison shakes her head aggressively and states, "Have you stand in the way between me and my children? Give that asshole what he wants. I'm not going with you!"

A familiar voice echoes from the background, "Madison! Get down!"

 ***Blam!***  
One of the gunmen drops the ground as a gunshot blows his brains out, spewing bits of brain matter on Madison's face, who squints and fires off her own round off ***Blam!*** , bursting through the bounty hunter's skull. Following another ***Blam!*** from someone else's gun and the sound of choking occurs behind her. The man that was right next to the bounty hunter aims his SAA towards Madison, after jerking back and forth nervously between the action, about ready to shoot at her when ***Blam! Blam***. One shot strikes the wall behind and another pierces the enemy's ally in the throat, spurting blood all over the wall and tables; the bullet shot from a different angle than before.

Innocents rush out of the bar in the background. The last assailant holding a machete swings at Madison from behind and she dodges, swirling underneath behind him jumping away from the attacker. A sudden strained pain shoots into her side and she drops on her knee, using the opportunity he begins rushing at her before immediately stopping dead in his tracks. ***Shik*** Blood begins dripping from the edge of his lips and he drops to the ground, with a knife jerked out of his head. Her combative allies reveal themselves to her absolute euphoric surprise to be, Qaletaqa walker holding the gory knife, elegantly standing in front of her and the stern 'Crazy Dog' Lee standing to the side behind her, sending a brief gentle smile to her face nodding to the both of them before swiftly directing the pent up rage to the back of the bar.

Rushing towards the shady bartender, bodies littering the floor all over, pushing passed Taqa with her arms raised white knuckling her gun tight. Canalla sits in the feudal position underneath the counter, as she rolls around the corner to the opening. Dragging him out from the back and throwing him in the front of the counter as he bellows out throughout " _please!_ " and " _it was just business!_ ". Pushing on his knees, Madison raises her gun to his head.

"Enough with the bullshit! Where are my kids!" She screams pressing the gun tight against his skull.  
The two guards posted at the gateway burst through the door, looking around the room in horror uttering, "Que demonios". They see Madison putting the gun to Canalla and go to aim their guns...

 ***Blam! Blam!***  
The guards drop dead as Madison and Taqa lower their firearms. Canalla breaks down weeping out, "I know where some of your children are and your friends! Just don't kill me por favor.. You already destroyed my business, my life is ruined! I ask only this in return. Lo siento Señora..."

"Tell me what you know first." She demands pressing her Beretta rough against his skull.

The adrenaline pounds from his predicament, cropping his words, causing them to stutter at first as he cries out in tears, "You...your son and y...your soldado friend are okay. The Proctors met here last, last night discussing the details with these bounty hunters. They said that they couldn't find them, only that they were thought to have been at some junkyard and found a vehicle, getting away. You...your daughter and your smooth talking amigo on the other hand were spotted somewhere around Rio Tijuana. If they've been spotted, they've probably been found. If they've been found and are still alive, they are at the Bazaar." He pausing briefly clearing his throat. "The Proctors are also planning on moving to their other outposts to the east towards Houston. If they've left the area, that's where they are going! Por favor, that's everything I know!"

Lee and Walker gather around her, the silence in the air pierces like a bullet as she shakily keeps the gun pressed on his temple. Gritting her teeth, rage boiling in mental pot of emotions, holding it for what seems like eternity. Heaving an exasperated sigh, she drops the gun into her holster, disregarding the shady bartender's treachery letting him live. Instead she begrudgingly walks outside the bar door in fury hearing the broken man's weeps echoing in the background.

Following behind outside are the two former allies as Madison exhales deeply away from the intense altercation outside of the complex. Walker walks up behind her speaking in his typical confident manner, "We watched Nick and Daniel get out, they are safe. After pressing down the river a few miles down the coast, we discovered your boat's wreckage, no sign of Alicia or Strand. We heard from locals of a bartender who could possibly help. Forgive us for not finding you sooner."

Madison's pointer and thumb presses against the bridge of her nose in frustration as she gratefully exclaims, "Thank you; Taqa, Lee. I couldn't have made it out of there otherwise." Her tone shifts grave, "Right now, a man and is his family who took me in are in danger. I need to ask for your help."

"Honor; It's a quality I've always respected in you. We were going to leave to find our people, we decided instead to stay and fight for what's left our people." Walker announces firmly and carries on sternly, "Everything you have done and sacrificed for us; We have decided we will follow you to the end, Madison Clark."

Thankful, letting out a teary gentle smirk, she nods to the two and they all turn to venture onward out of the ruined marketplace.

Pressing forward as reasonably fast as they can; they cross the bridge, dip through alleyways, dodging infected lumbering in the distance. A couple hours pass getting to the hottest part of the day, they get around to the edge of the road when Madison halts the group, eyeing down a newly parked truck parked at the dilapidated gate of the home Ramón and his family are residing in. 

Pulling the two closer into a huddle, Madison marshals, "Someone is still here, let's try to keep one alive if we can and find out if my friend, Ramón and his two daughters are okay. There is an abandoned car over on the other side of the street that Taqa could use for cover." Taqa nods in acceptance and she turns to Crazy Dog, pointing at the house across the street overlooking Ramón's. "I see that house over there's roof could be climbed by using the shed. Lee, if you're able, you could use that as a vantage point. I'll lure them to the outside, they won't kill me if they are paying bounties to have me alive. Wait for my signal. Any objections?" The two utter "Nope" and they break from group to their designated spots.

Inside the house, blood splatters against the table following a bloody battered Ramón slamming on top of it, causing it to cave in to the ground. Three Proctors stand over him and begin kicking him, one of which sporting a bald head with a long black braided beard, stops and grabs him violently states to Ramón's angered disgust, "It's because of you, the things that will happen to your daughters. To you. Helping that woman was a crime. Proctor John has demanded that anyone who attempts to help the fugitive is to be dealt with without consideration." 

"I...didn't...know..." Ramón hazily cries out. 

The man pulls him closer towards his face and hurls him towards the ground whipping out his gun, callously asking. "I hope you've said your prayers old man."

The cruel antagonist directs his pistol at the defenseless beaten, broken man and just before pressing the trigger, he hears a muffled feminine yell coming from outside the building demanding their presence. Looking at his brothers, he lowers his weapon and Ramón collapses to the ground. Nodding to each other as they rush outside to face her.

Running out onto the street, armed and read they turn to their right to see Madison holding her arms lazily up, her pistol hanging off her finger tips snarling and a scowl on her face; speaking out to the vicious bikers, "Where's Ramón? Are him or his family still alive?"

The main bald biker man of the group steps forward, stepping a foot towards her laughing at her attempt, "Goddamn shit. I didn't expect you to just waltz back here. You stupid or something? So you just walk in here and what? Quick draw three men to save your friend? Or are you here to surrender for their lives? When we left your friend, he was breathing...somewhat...So that might just work. We were just about to put an end to his suffering too come to think of it. Though his two daughters on the other hand..."

"What did you do..?" She snarls at the despicable man who mocks her by laughing at her response.

"They are long gone by now. Don't worry, we'll find a use for them. Your friend on the other hand will be dealt with, permanently, after we deliver you. If you choose to resist that is." The man confidently replies. "This doesn't have to get worse than it has to, so just don't fight it and come with us quietly." 

Her eyes drop to the ground staring at the pebbles in the pavement. Unexpectedly to the opposition, scouting with her peripherals for her allies who get into positions while still trying to maintain eye contact with her enemies, Madison erupts in a maniacal laughter unsettling the group of hardened individuals and begins assertively announcing to the three, "Want to know something funny? I'm not going back with you and if John thinks he's getting what he wants, he's not. In fact, unless you tell me what I want, you won't be leaving here alive either."

Raising their guns up, the head man suspiciously responds by drawing his gun on her, "You are one stuck up bitch, thinking you could stop us. What makes you think you could even possibly win?"

Raising her right arm up high, their eyes following her up, she clicks her thumb and middle finger together creating an echoing _*snap*_.

Confused, the lead man in the middle standing up front begins to snicker... 

***BAM!***  
A bullet rips through his ally's eye socket, dropping the mook instantly dead to the ground. Disoriented from his brethren's demise, looking away to see the carnage allowing Madison a chance to retaliate back, she swirls her pistol into her fingertips popping off her own shots at them ***BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!** *, one directly strikes and cripples the bald proctor, blowing a hole in his kneecap. 

The third Proctor fires his gun at Madison, ***BLAM!*** who cowers behind the corner of an alleyway to the right side of her and then directs his attention onto the roof where Crazy Dog lays and he unloads a couple more, ***BLAM! BLAM!***. Inspecting her magazine, Madison notices she only has two left and one in the chamber, whispering bitterly to herself " _Shit._ "

Taqa maneuvers his way to the other side behind the abandoned vehicle and fires off his own shots from his Colt MK IV, ***BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!*** , one of the bullets pierces the man's gut who then drops to the ground.

Emerging from the corner of the alleyway, along with the other two emerging from their cover place, the groups converge together and Madison rushes to the lead member who's crying on the ground grappling his knee.

Going up to him she presses her foot on his chest, pressing him down to the ground retracting his prior statements, "Don't feel too strong, do you now?"

Exasperatingly and painfully growling out in a counter speech he musters, "John did say that you'd be a problem to not take lightly.... Should've taken his advice...but...no matter... You'll never survive this...Can't stop the new world..."

"Where did you take Ramón's children?" She demands.

Squinting from his injuries laying on the ground, he answers back, "Your friend's kids? What do I care?"

Madison proceeds to curb stomp his bullet hole ridden leg, landing straight on the injury, forcing the guy to scream out a painful cry of discomfort. Demanding once more she repeats again more harshly, "Where are they!?"

Twitching from the pain, clasping his leg like a highly tightened vice grip, he squeals out a crystal clear, "The Bazaar! The Bazaar!"

A vexatious Madison quickly draws out Beretta and asks another question, "And my children?"

Much to her and everyone else's surprise, holding his gored gut the third Proctor emerges. Struggling to get up off the ground, raising his gun up unavoidably towards Madison, he belches out, "You bitch..! My brothers!" 

***BAM!***  
Propelling to the ground with a newly formed hole in the side of his head, the third Proctor death grips his trigger squeezing radically a couple times into the air ***BLAM! BLAM!*** pointlessly missing every shot on the way to the ground. A brutally tortured Ramón suddenly emerges from the gate, staggering outside holding a .38 Colt Diamondback that he must've had hidden away. Drifting with each limp towards him aiming his weapon with complete predatory hateful precision towards the crippled lead Proctor and without a second thought, ***BLAM!*.** His revolver discharge annihilates the last Proctor's chrome dome.

Brushing the encounter off, Madison's attention gracefully goes to her friend and begins to walk up to him uttering, "Ramón. I came as soon as I..." before his tired, bruised eyes violently glare at her stopping her dead in her tracks. 

Her badly beaten former associate's gun slowly gravitates towards her chest and he hazily utters to a shaken Madison "You...", forcing Madison's heart to race and her arms to raise up slightly trembling. Keeping her held up despite his strength clearly leaving, even spitting blood onto the pavement. Forcing the words out he concludes, "...Señora...Por favor, te lo ruego...Save my daughters." His eyes start to roll back and suddenly his legs buckle, plunging Ramón face first onto the pavement.

A traumatized Madison gawks, looking down at the poor bloody man in petrified horror. Looking back up and all around the room mentally raking the bodies in her wake, she looks over at the duo.

Troubled, Taqa steps forward and subtly inquires, "So what's the plan Madison?"

Firmly retorting back aggressively, "We are going back to the Bazaar. We are getting his daughters back. And then we are going to burn that cesspit to the _fucking_ ground..."

_** Writer: BetterAngels195 ** _


	2. Broken Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Salazar deal with personal issues while Alicia and Strand hide from outside threats.

**DI** **SCLAIMER: This is a non canon fan written story. All characters from the TV show are owned by AMC and Robert Kirkman, not me. I'm just a dude. All original creations are mine though.**

_***Ka-boom!***_  
The explosives burst at the base of the Dam. Madison, Alicia and Strand begin to panic revving the engine at full blast as the suction of the lake draining begins to pull them in. While they get closer to the crumbling gap in the wall, Madison gives one last longing look at her distraught son who's clinging onto the fence at the top of the collapsing structure. Her heart sinks with the sounds of the funneled waterfall inching itself closer with every resistant attempt to stop it failing.

"Oh sweet Jesus. What are we going to do..?" Strand frightfully gasps as they hit the divide.

"Everybody grab onto the boat!" Screams Madison as the three of them get swept into the raging spout.

Nick stands on top of the crumbling bridge watching his family get swept under, a gored face Salazar suddenly grabs onto him and catches the tail end of the situation. Noticing Proctor John in the distance, Daniel lets go of Nick and attempts to shoot at the lead Proctor. 

_***BLAM!***_  
Missing the shot which sparks against the chain-link fence, tearing the aluminum apart and startling the debilitated biker leader. Pulling out his gun along with his remaining Proctor at his side who's keeping him propped under his arm, turning around, directing towards the duo and pushing his Proctor away. John steps away slowly limping a foot out yelling to the veteran, "You are pushing your luck Soldado! You both may have prolonged your lives, but whoever makes it out of that river, I _will_ find them."

Both sides being held in a mexican standoff, Nick retaliates back. "It doesn't have to be this way John! Leave them out of this!"

The ground begins the cave in the middle of the feuding pairs, standing on opposite sides of the destruction forming. Proctor John calls out one last time as the collapsing gap grows wide, growing a stern angered brow yelling out, "That's the the way it is Nick. You made that decision on the bridge!"

Mirroring John's enraged expression, Nick screams. "If you hurt them...!" 

Growing a mild grin, John scoffs and angrily retaliates. "You'll have to kill me. Or at least try. It'd be the only chance your family will ever get for making it out of this alive. You should've just given me the detonator Nick. Now I suggest you go find them before my men do, it'd be a shame to have to face the consequences of rash actions..." The ground begins shaking as the divide between them continues to grow, and the nervous Proctor backs up worryingly, tilting his head back to his foe. "I see we will have to postpone our little chess game for now. Until we meet again, Nicholas Clark." Smugly turning back around, the two Proctors retreat out of the vicinity, to both Nick and Daniel's disgruntled dismay. 

Looking down as the ground continues to crumble, turning over to tug on Daniel's arm, Nick hollers at him, "Daniel! We have to go now!" 

Briefly entranced in a vindictive rage before quickly snapping out of it hearing Nick's cries, the war torn old man acknowledges the situation and the two make a break for it as the large gaping crack in the Dam slowly grows wider and wider. Running down far enough away to the other side, both stop to watch in the distance as the water pressure crushes the bridge completely, pushing the debris outwards into the river. 

Continuing to exit out of the dam as fast as they can at the north end near Presa Rodriquez, they are met with resistance at the gate as large groups of infected begin to flood their way in. Daniel begins to panic drawing his pistol, but an unfazed Nick flings his hand gently upon Daniel's gun, pressing it down and casually walks forward snatching a lone undead in the front by the throat, thrusting him to the ground and stepping on it's throat. Pulling out his knife, Nick slams it into the rotted man's temple and twists it out. Looking back quick to see the infected quickly incoming, he begins to gut the undead and starts spreading the rotted innards all over him. 

Somewhat horrorified by the derange act, a worrisome Daniel mutters, "Nick?".

Nick stands upright having turned himself a dark red with all the goop, turns to Daniel stating, "Smother yourself. Keep away from your wound. Do it quick. Stay quiet, let's move slowly." before standing up and begins leisurely walking towards the oncoming lumbering group of living dead cannibals. 

  
Bumping shoulders with the living dead as he pushes passed them one by one, a garbled disembodied female voice abruptly rings through his head causing him to look over at a gored blonde woman shambling by, ghostly whispering with her back turned to him, " _Follow...Us..._ ". Nick's eyes grow wide as she passes by, befuddling and stopping him in his tracks.

Emerging from the crowd, Salazar pushes through, heavily heaving from holding his beath after he escapes Them. Giving a piercing gaze finding a shell shocked Nick staring ominously. He calls out to the young man, "Nick are you alright?" 

Still staring out into the horde, he replies, "Yeah.. Just... thought I heard something."

Squinting with that dubious sly stare, he just slowly nods to Nick. Using a clean hand and bandage to press on his wound, the two both set off into the distance pushing up the hill north into the country...

Taqa and Lee watch in the distance as the two make their escape, relieved at their escape. Packing up the rifle and binoculars, getting ready to leave. Walker starts hazily looking outwards into the bright slightly cloudy sky in the direction of the chaos.

"Water flows up the channel. They could wash up anywhere. So what's going to be the plan?" Lee questions, following, "North?"

Taqa nods, turning his head to his friend and echoing back a somber, "North." as the two go inwards onto the wasteland to their fated destination.

Slamming into the water after shooting out the dam, nearly knocking Alicia out the back of the raft if it wasn't for Strand white knuckling her forearm next to her. Holding on for dear life as they sway back and forth with the rapids, bits of debris, sticks and bushes start to shoot out of the water all around, as the waves clashing with the each other all around. As the boat drifts near the wall, among the debri, an undead Proctor also blasts out of the water gliding above the group like Free Willy and snarling back into the water on the other side of them, causing Strand snide in awe, "Well that's not something you see everyday."

Continuing to zoom down the raging river at a high velocity, seeing remnants of the train bridge coming up, Madison at the stern screams out, "Hold on!"

The boat boat glides and grazes against the side of the pillars as they squeeze by, jerking them around a little bit. All taking a breath as they get out of that situation relatively quick, they begin to realize it was but the calm of the storm. The tide slams into a rock wall incoming up in front, swirling left towards the inner city. Alicia grapples the tiller, tugging as hard as she could, but was unable to drift against the current, barreling straight towards the wall. Colliding with the rock head on, the zodiac's bow raises up, spiraling around in the water. Everybody holds on for dear life, but in the chaotic ruckus, jerked around until her hands gave out, Madison gets whipped off the boat flailing into the crashing river. 

Alicia watches in horror as her mom plunges into the murky depths, screaming out, "Mom! MOM!" 

Swiveling back forward again, the boat relines with the the river. Strand worryingly looks down and lifts his feet, watching as quantities of water pour off his soles. Looking at the front of the boat which begins to slightly dip. Looking over at the distraught teen whose head is jerking back and forth scanning the waters around. Panic in his eyes also, he worryingly latches onto her arm and conveys to her "Alicia, I imagine how you must be feeling about your mother right now and that's a predicament, but at the moment we are about to have an even bigger predicament. I think the bow must be torn, we are taking in water! We need to go to shore immediately before we get sucked under the current."

Shaking the tears away and coming to her senses, Alicia grabs hold of the tiller trying to drift towards the embankment. Noticing an incoming problem she relays a plan to Victor, "Alright... Alright...We won't be able land the boat in the aqueduct, the current is too strong and we'll just get pulled back out in the water if we try to land on these slopes. We'll have to jump off as soon as we get close enough some land. I'll give the signal and we'll jump." 

Strand nods and the two get ready as they slowly get closer to the edge of the river that is nearly stretching up high enough into the passageways above. Gliding against the edge of the embankment, Alicia screams, "Now!"

Alicia leaps off the boat onto land, with Strand trying to follow behind. Going to jump off the boat, his foot gets caught and twisting his ankle, and falling into the river. Alicia quickly reacts, latching onto his arm. Trying hard not to get dragged in with him, she pulls as hard as she can, dragging him onto the shore with her. Strand gasps for air, feeling his ankle which is bruised and swollen, the two share a worrying look to one another...

**FEAR THE WALKING DEAD**

_ **The Forgotten Fear** _

**A fan written continuation based on the series created by Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman**

"My mom and Taqa took a trip to get water in a rig. They said they had to abandon it because of the dead. The keys should still be in it and plenty of gas, we could use it to get out of the area." Nick relays to Daniel while walking down the decrepid streets. Noticing Daniel clenching his wound, he says. "We'll have to get supplies to clean that on the way. It could get infected otherwise."

"This is what you get for trusting a con man..." Daniel harks angrily, throwing a tiny bit of a hostile side eye at Nick. "I'll kill that puta when I find him, and that cabrón friend of yours." 

An infected woman not far down the street hears them talking and starts rushing at them in a staggered pace, to which Nick notices. Unfazed by this odd reaction from the undead, using it as an excuse to break away from the conversation, he walks up to it and grabs the gored woman by the neck. Holding her away one handed while the other hand goes for his waist, a brief moment of _l'appel du vide_ sweeps over Nick, staring face to rotted face at one another. 

Hearing Daniel calling his name in the background, he shakes it off and despite her thrashing and snapping, Nick thrusts a knife into her head. * ** _Shik!_** * Her body goes limp and Nick let's her go, dropping to the ground. Pulling the knife out, Nick groans and redirects the conversation, "The blood trick only works if we remain quiet. Until we find somewhere safe, we should try to keep a low profile." 

While vexed, Daniel agrees to the situation despite acknowledging Nick's redirection and with a pained gutteral mutter, he replies. "Agreed. Though don't forget Nick...While I respect your mother; you and I will be speaking of this later.." 

Nick reluctantly nods to him and they press on. **  
**

Holding Strand up with his arm wrapped around her shoulder with a slight limp, the two trek near the P-51 district in Baja on the roadway. Noticing infected incoming ways away and seeing a fence knocked over into a small open plain, they decide to cross over into it towards the nearby houses in the district. Leaping over the barbed part of the fence, they staggeringly dash across the field towards backside of the Villa. Sneaking in through a small alleyway behind one of the complexes, they make it out in the open and find one of the worst possible outcomes. 

Infected pepper the enclosed roadways through the walled community. The shambling undead take notice of the survivors and all begin to lumber towards them. Thinking of heading back Alicia turns around to see an infected man coming out from behind the alley blocking their way out, muttering " _shit_ " to herself.

Seeing the exit down the block with a locked gate, with infected pouring in from all angles, Strand quickly turns to the nervous teenager and yells, "Alicia, we have to get to the gate now!" 

Split thinking, looking around for options, she snatches a piece of brick off the ground and hurls it through a nearby car window shattering the glass loudly. The dead briefly become entranced by the sound, distracting just long enough for Alicia to pick Strand up and hurry towards a nearby housing complex. Regaining their senses, the infected continue to give chase. Alicia and Strand burst through a nearby housedoor and slam it shut. Locking it up and finding a nearby chair inside to prop against the door. Right as they get the chair against it suddenly the house starts to shake with the unrelenting pounding from the former resident's decrepid gory hands. 

Knowing they haven't got much time and looking towards the backdoor. Alicia proposes an idea,

"There has to be something in here that can make some noise. An egg timer, a doll, anything. Something that'll buy us time to get to the gate safely. Check the rooms, quickly!" Strand approves, and limps into the kitchen area while Alicia rushes upstairs. 

Cautiously peeking around the corner, noticing blood on the ground. Strand picks up a picture frame, preparing to use the edge as a weapon. As he enters the kitchen area, a scene of horrors fill the atmosphere with a permeating aroma of decay. A man sits at the kitchen table, head drooped back on chair neck towards Strand with a hole dripping darkened goop like molasses onto the floor. Throwing a disgusted look while pulling his arm up to his nose, he quickly notices the .38 snub nose lying near him. Pulling himself against the counter, stepping over the goop, he hobbles down and snatches it, remarking "Ah, you shouldn't have" to the corpse.

Alicia rushes up the stairs pushing doors open in a panic, tearing rooms apart, finding it all full of useless items. She suddenly kicks open the door to what appeared the be the kids room. She notices a loud talking doll on a shelf nearby, whispering to herself with a nostalgic smile "I used to have one of these once. Used to drive Nick nuts with it _._ " 

Looking over for more shining her phone light out in the room Her eyes widen into watery mists. The crib laid in the middle in a decorated room full of ABC/123 floor mats, baby toys, dolls and a painting of a valley against the walls. The closer she looked, she noticed the crib was slathered in a dark crimson coating all over like veneer, leaving a trail that lead into a closed closet. 

Her mouth gapes as it fully sets in and she gasps out, "Oh my god." stepping backwards elbowing a music box off the ground which begins to play 'Ring Around The Rosie' as it hits the ground.   
Nearly knocking Alicia off her feet, the closet door suddenly bows outward hard with an infected snarling and smacking the other side right where the horrific trail led. It's chalkboard scratching snarls hurl on with each pound, leading to a small * _crack_ * in the doorframe. Alicia begins to panic, nearly in tears and snatches the talking doll and music box, rushing back down to Strand as the lone monster pushes on against the closet door, each clash cracking more and more. 

She rushes into the kitchen with the multitude of infected pounding on the front door outside in the background, to find Strand sitting at the table across from the dead man and he humorously remarks to the weirded out Alicia, "He's not much of a talker." 

"What are you...?"

"My ankle hurts and I needed to take a minute. He's not getting up anytime soon." Strand answers. "Fortune find you in good favor?"

Alicia's eyes grow heavy, but she holds out the music box and doll. Strand nods and pulls out an Egg timer he found along with duck tape. They pull their resources as the outside undead begin to accumulate pressure on the house, knocking things over by shaking the foundation like a train passing nearby a city house. One of the window's plywood cracks and a bloody arm bursts through and a rolling * _thud_ * comes hurdling down from the stairs. In the corner of her eye, Alicia sees a feminine figure limbering upward from the stairway shrouded in shadow.

Taping it all up as fast as they can, they throw it in the middle of the room near the door, and the figure turns towards it also. Seeing their opportunity as the devices begin to blare loudly, they burst through the back door rushing back out onto the street. The dead stumble towards the house acting as if they are still in there. Alicia and Strand notice the bareness in front of them towards the gate with only a handful of stragglers lurking about. 

Alicia pulls the crippled man over her shoulder and they book it down the street at a brisked pace. The straggling infected take notice of them shambling towards them and begin snarling. Roughly six infected lumber towards them as they scurry passed, dodging them, getting towards the front gate. 

Reaching the blocked off with giant wooden paneled entrance to the town homes and realizing they'll have to go one at a time, Alicia commands, "I'll toss you over and I'll follow right behind you." Strand nods, sweat rolling down his forehead as the undead press closer by the second. 

She cups her hand, holding it low enough for Strand to step on it and she hurls him over onto the top of the panel where he pulls with all his might over it. An infected suddenly lunges at Alicia from behind her and she side steps him, letting him smack into the wall and then she kicks an incoming infected in the chest knocking him back a foot. Desperately trying to grapple on the wall, she gets a grip and begins pulling herself up. Just as she's pulling herself over, her leg gets snagged by an infected's hand snatching her jeans. Wiggling her foot back and forth trying to kick him away, she breaks free falling backwards into the street below with Strand.

"You alright?" Strand asks worryingly.

Checking herself and her leg. With relief, she sighs, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Looking at the front gate that's been paneled off, in bold spanish spray painted all over the front, " **Todos muertos, no entren** ".

Nervously cackling to himself, Strand moodily laughs, "No shit. A warning sooner would've been nicer." Turning towards Alicia who's staring miles away out into the city and knocking his smug grin away, he suddenly grows a stern brow and exhales heavily chagrin.

The sun begins to set upon the horizon with only a couple hours till nighttime as a door hinge snaps with Nick kicking it in. Before entering he knocks on the door a couple times and pokes his head in making sure the coast is clear, letting out a quick wave to behind him. Speaking to a pained Daniel who sneaks up right beside him, "If there is one it's trapped somewhere. This is more secluded out here so we should have more luck finding supplies than an average house in the city."

Bursting through and storming through the trailer house, they go out inspecting the rooms, all looking like they've untouched for weeks with dust floating all over. Nick returns back looking at the dishes in the filled sink, lit up with bright grime engulfed dull shine by a tiny window right above the sink. Completely abandoned and full of green water, growing all sorts of interesting looking fungus in it along with the living room completely bare of any life; looking towards the back rooms while Salazar inspects the bathroom drawers, Nick pokes around a main bedroom, checking corners of large dressers and underneath the mattress for any potential staches. 

As he's about to give up after no success, he notices a pill bottle full of high grade painkillers near the backside of the bed prescribed to someone, but with the elements has made it difficult to read. Opening it up he takes a look inside, seeing a half full bottle of pain meds, and hearing Daniel coming makes a split decision. Letting his instincts get the better of him, he dumps out a small handful, pocketing roughly a third of it and quickly snaps the cap on right as Daniel waltzes in. 

Noticing Nick's quick actions, but slyly dismissing, Daniel dubiously questions, "So what did you find?"

"Well.. I found some high grade pain medication. Who knows if it was legal or not, the label is worn out, but it should be good for the pain." Nick replies eagerly. "What about you?"

Daniel just eyes him down briefly, then responds, "Huh...Well I found antiseptic mouthwash, extra gauze pads, sanitizing wipes...and even some toothpaste too on top of it."

Growing a small grin, Nick scoffs, "It's funny. As kids with how hard it was for my mom to get me and Alicia to brush our teeth, you'd never really think of how important that all is until your in the apocalypse brushing your teeth with dead people's forgotten toothpaste, or just not at all for days on end." 

"Heh. You couldn't get my Ophelia out of the bathroom as a child. She'd just brush and brush for 15 or 20 minutes straight...Yeah, she...She..." Trailing off into an intelligible mutter, elevating into a war torn gaze. Nick notices in the background looking down in shame.

Holding the bottle out, the troubled boy astutes, redirecting the conversation, beginning to walk to the front door, "We should get going. We can make it by early evening tomorrow if we press on now."

"No. We'll stay here for the night."

Aghast, Nick relents, "Why? We should keep ahead while we still are."

Daniel looking around the house as they walks towards the front door, assessing the situation, "We've got walls with no immediate threats and we can burn some books to keep us warm in the night. We've got the supplies we need. We'll rest up and at dawn, we leave."

"We need to stay ahead while we are, right now we are just waiting for them to find us. John no doubt sent men after us and I know assholes like him, he won't stop till he gets what he wants." Nick protests.

"The Proctors aren't some omnipotent force of nature. As long as we keep our heads down, we should be fine. I was once worked for assholes like these, remember?" Daniel confidently responds to the young man. "The ones that generally got away were usually the ones that hid under our noses. We keep our heads down, we should be fine.Trust me." 

  
Huffing loud, Nick relents. "Hey I'm just saying...We get ambushed in the night, I said my peace. At least out in the open you can hear what's coming."

"Out in the open you are also easier to spot. It's a double edged sword, Nick. Don't be foolish thinking the enemy isn't also thinking ahead."

Giving in, but still against, he reluctantly agrees to the veteran's plan and just stairs ominously out the kitchen window, open eyes drawn to a lowly undead standing on top of a hill.

Battered, beaten, but still going on as Alicia and Strand fend off a small group of undead outside a large carshop warehouse. Alicia presses hard against the back door, managing to completely fend them off as Strand pulls a large pallet of heavy boxes in front of the door. Catching their breath, giving each other the 'all good' nod as Strand collapses against a bunch of boxes; both start looking towards the Inside. The long corridors filled with scattered mechanical parts, vehicles being worked on, some of which are still propped up, stretch in a straight line roughly 40-50 feet down and curves to the right down towards another long stretch into a U shape. Looking over at the stairs which lead up a level and follow one end of the building to the other. 

Alicia picks up a stray Sway Bar Link and tosses it out towards the main open space in front of them, crashing, banging and echoing throughout the halls. A couple undead workers pop out of the woodwork and start lumbering towards them. Unfazed and slightly enraged, Alicia pulls out her butterfly knife and starts charging at them. Roughly four infected, Alicia plows into one knocking it on the ground with another lumbering right next to it. Plunging a knife into the nearest standing infected, the blade sticks and shes drops with it's limping body to the ground. As the other two are incoming shortly behind, seeing a nearby Monkey Wrench, she grabs it and plunges her foot down stepping on the one downed monster's throat who's now trying to get up and immediately smacks one of the incoming undead in the head, knocking him down permanently. Glancing back down towards the desperately flailing knocked over young mid 20's dead man, Alicia just crushes his head in a couple smacks. 

Cruelly looking over at the last which begins to come in range behind her, Strand sneaks up behind and quickly finishes the last one off with a metal bar.

Walking over to snag her personal blade out of the infected's head Alicia semi-graciously replies, "I was fine. You didn't have to..."

"I know", He returns limping over towards those boxes with a man sized imprint, "Sometimes we all need to take a step back and take the help, even if it's from a handsome handicapped gentleman such as myself. Take a breath, eat some of the food we snagged at that gas station."

Pacing around, she mutters back in trepidation, "Strand! We can't sit around. We have to go out and find them. They could be in trouble..We could.." She trails off for a second and Strand hobbles over towards her.

Grabbing hold of her shoulders, Strand speaks directly, "Alicia, you can't think like that. At this point the only thing we have as the priority number one is the 'here and now' and where to move forward towards. We can't ponder on the 'what ifs', we can only take it as it comes, deal with it and trudge on through the next shitstorm." Tears begin to swell in her eyes, as Strand seldom continues. "Alicia...Your mother and brother are going to survive this, I know it. They've been through too much to let this take them down, don't worry about them, just worry about yourself. You are going to find them again and you're all going to be together once more, I promise. Be strong for now, it's what your mother would have wanted." 

Wiping her eyes, Alicia smiles at the man, nods and looks around noting, "We could stay in the upper level office for the night. The infected have troubles climbing stairs and we'd have walls." 

Strand laughs in agreement, "Sounds like a plan. Not a 5 star hotel, but these days I'd take it."  
Packing their stuff up, they go to set up upstairs.

A small fire illuminates the inside of the house with blankets covering the windows minus small cracks for the smoke to seep out of as Nick and Salazar sit around it. Daniel sits in a recliner while Nick sits on the couch opposite to each other, both feeding the flames random books. The fire starts to dull and Nick stands up, going to pick a book off the shelf. Grabbing one at random he looks at the title ' **Heart of Darkness** '.

"Any good?" Curiously asks Daniel.

"I remember reading a bit of this while sitting in jail one day out of boredom. My dad always said that 'reading is a great way to broaden the mind'." 

"Sounds like a smart man."

"He was..." Nick pauses briefly. "The book's pretty good though. About this guy going up a river to find this other guy and it's all about how taking people's land isn't right and how good men can do bad things." Flipping through the pages he starts to snicker sarcastically, "Now I just wish I could've seen how it ended." Before remorsefully tossing the book into the fire. 

Going back to grab another book to toss in, he pulls up ' **The Little Prince** ' and a disgusted look grows on his face. 

Noticing, Daniel snorts a quick laugh and says, "That bad?"

"I'll just say this; was rammed down my throat for a long time. I got a quarter of the way through it and nothing made sense, so I just quit. I'm not going to say it's bad, but it's definitely not something I'll personally recommend." Nick announces, gleefully tossing it into the fire and then going back to sit on the couch.

After a little time passes, Daniel rocks back against the chair and dubiously questions, "So Nick, be honest and don't bullshit me. Why did you try to protect that pedazo de mierda, Troy?"

"Been holding that in all day? 'Why?' Because people can change, Daniel. Not everyone who did something bad needs to die." Snarking, Nick leans back against the couch.

"Say what you will, but you and I both know the truth. People like him are time-bombs and that man was nothing but a cold blooded murderer, I could see it in his face." Apathetic and unmoved, Daniel retorts. 

An intimidating disgusted half grin grows on Nick's face as he says, "Well you don't have to worry about that anymore because my mom already beat you to it and killed him herself. A bit hard to satiate that unquenchable thirst now huh?" 

"Your mother did...huh." Daniel hunches over, pressing his thumb on his temple. "It's not just about vengeance, Nick. He was a danger. He needed to be put down."

"For what? For being a killer?" He protests. "If being a killer means that the person should die, then it's a good thing I didn't feel that way about Ophelia back at the Ranch..." 

"Watch your next words Nick, it's just you and me out here."

Unfettered by the fuming Daniel as Nick pushes on, "I bet they never told you what she did to us. To me. You know I don't care about what happened to your daughter. In fact, part of me feels like it's some twisted karma after what she did to us." He says, as a slightly bewildered and very enraged Daniel stares the boy down. "You want to know what Ophelia did? She betrayed us, Daniel. She poisoned our food and nearly killed us all. Then their group forced their way into our homes and tried to disarm us. They tried to take over the place entirely and banished Troy from his own home. You may think this is all one sided, but it wasn't. Troy was a piece of shit, but he wasn't entirely unjust. If he deserved to die for his crimes, what makes hers any different? Or mine? Or yours for that matter? You ever think Strand wouldn't have shot you had you ever once trusted him on anything? There's got to be a line somewhere. Not everything has to be about death."

Taken back a bit by this sudden wave of information, Daniel falls back against the chair, winces out a single tear and utters out, "What my daughter did...she is my daughter and she always will be. What that man and Victor did, is inexcusable. When people commit a crime, they deserve to be punished do they not?"

"I had a chance to kill Troy a long time ago, for something he did towards me and my family. Longest couple minutes of my life..." Confidently professing, he admits, "I think back to what if I had killed him there. Alot of things would be different..Then again, I wouldn't have been taught as much as I have, learned to defend myself better, and learned to shoot as good as I do without him. Also if I remember, it was Troy who notified you all at the Dam about the Proctor's attack. Without him there..?"

"So why didn't you shoot?" 

Pausing for a brief moment to think, Nick exchanges back, "Maybe you don't have to forgive them, or like them, but people are useful and doing bad things doesn't make you evil. Maybe there is a better way, another way. You can't just kill all the killers, because in the end you'll still have one left." 

"And what about the ones like Proctor John? The ones who you can't change. The ones who you can't stop or reason with. What about them?" Protesting, the elderly man groans on. 

"If it comes to it. Killing is matter of defense, not pleasure" Admitting, but yet reassuring his position. "You kill to survive, not because you want to. If it can be avoided, then there's got to be another way." 

"So when you killed Troy's father, which way was that?" Throwing the silencing conversational curve-ball and then starts looking at the diminishing flames in the middle of the room, adding in with that signature cocky mid smirk, "You going to feed those flames, Nick?"

The young man curves his brow, squints, looking as if to say something, but instead bites his tongue and just starts walking towards the bookshelf.

With only the moonlight to light up the outside as night settles in completely and unable to get any shut eye, Nick slips himself off the couch. Peering over at Daniel who's seemingly out cold in the recliner, slinking silently across the floor, he tip toes towards the front door. Cracking the door outside open, creaking slightly all the way through, he sneaks out of the house into the broad open space overlooking a somewhat large open field, with the sound of the river clashing in the background. Pulling out a crumbled hand rolled cigarette out of his pocket, he slips it into his mouth, lights it up, taking a puff off of it. Exhaling a bloom of smoke into the cold clear night sky, walking to the side of the house and looking off into the distance towards a neighboring barn. 

Keeping the smoke propped by his lips, Nick starts feeling up his pockets, and pulls out the small handful of narcotics he took earlier. Staring at them for what seems to be an eternity, biting the top of his lip anxiously and looking around all over. Giving in, he pops a couple in his mouth and begins wandering off towards the barn across the field. Staggering shadows scattered all about as Nick passes through nonchalantly, forcing him to come to a complete stop when one starts to stagger nearby passing in front of him horizontally. 

"Guhhh..", Heaves the infected man passing through with a guttural growl, not noticing Nick standing close, and just continues in it's implacable path. He watches as the creature leaves his view and continues his journey towards the barn. 

Roughly halfway, he starts to feel the effects of the narcotics, causing him to feel a little disoriented, and slightly staggering in balance. Getting more intense by the second, Nick pushes himself against the side of a nearby small totaled rusted tanker truck to take a breath. Clutching his chest as his heart feels like it's pumping through the roof along with a little hyperventilation, exclaiming to himself in a nervous laugh "Shit, I should've had more to eat today..", all the while completely oblivious to an incoming lone infected creeping up behind the front of the tanker.

The infected swings around the corner with a gurgling growl catching Nick off guard, causing him to stumble back, trip and fall on his back. Jumbling for his knife, the infected lumbers over, rag dolls and flops on top of him. Trying desperately to hold it's flailing head back as it's broken, jagged teeth keep gnashing and snarling at the junkie. Unable to get the knife out of his pocket, Nick looks over seeing an edged rock. With his free hand while the other clasps the dead's throat, he stretches out to grab the rock and snags it. Whipping back with great intensity, smashing it against the undead's temple, making it go limp and killing it instantly.

Pushing the monster off to the side of him and giving a sigh of relief, he begins rolling on the ground cackling maniacally. Calming down a bit with the sedation taking more of an effect, his eyes briefly linger up at the beautiful clear night sky towards a bright half moon. Lost in a gaze, he's abruptly drawn to a figure in his peripherals perched on top of the barn roof. A small avian with large bulbous reflective eyes peers down silently observing the area with it's radar vision. As Nick catches a glimpse, it spreads it's wings out and begins flapping off into the night. 

" _Gloria..._ " Her name once again echoing in his head, causing his eyes to widen as he watches the nocturnal bird fly off in the night.

A somewhat loud strained sound coming from inside the barn that startles and breaks his concentration. Getting off the ground, he stares at the complex and starts cautiously walking towards it. As he gets closer, the mild creaking gets louder and louder coming from the inside. Pulling the large doors open, igniting his lighter for illumination, Nick's met with an nerving racking sight, followed by a horrendous smell that nearly causes him to gag.

Flies infest the building, buzzing around the few rotting Steers in the back corner. The creaking sound starts up again and following the direction, he looks up to see the cause of the noise. Swinging back and forth from the rafters was a middle aged man tethered by a cable wire tightly around his neck. Having died and turned, the man wiggles around wildly, snapping his jaw aggressively towards Nick. Taking a step forward, he stops when he feels an odd crinkling underneath his feet. Shining the light down to the ground to investigate, he sees a photograph featuring the dead man, an unknown woman and two kids. Nick's face droops and he let's out depressing sigh, before turning his head back towards the hanging man. Flicking his light off, Nick plops down against a wall not saying a word and just listens to the swaying of the rafters.

Sleeping in the Warehouse's upstairs office, using coats they found as blankets and an emptied cereal box as a pillow. Alicia is sound asleep while Strand remains awake casually sitting next to the window overseeing the building with one leg propped on a chair, tossing pieces of cereal into his mouth out of a bag on a table in front of him. Strand looks down at the sleeping girl through the adapted darkness and muttering in a whisper to himself " _Goddammit Victor..._ ", heaving a big sigh. Processing all the information that's happened, moisture swells in his eyes and Strand busts into tears, trying hard not to heave and sniffle loud. Prodding his fingers under his eyes to wipe away the tears, when something odd suddenly catches his peripherals.

A dim batch of moonlight unexpectedly propels into the front entrance area where they came in at, with five figures entering in shortly behind. The unidentified figures shut the door quietly behind them and kick on all five flashlights of theirs, beaming all around the building. As a ray of light closes in on their complex, he dives from the window onto the ground. Noticing Alicia is still asleep, he proceeds to shake her awake.

In a drowsy daze, she awakes confused, "What...What is it?"

"Shh, We've got company." A frightened Strand whispers. "We need to leave now before we get spotted."

Before they can start gather their belongings with no other way out, a pair of footsteps begin to approach their door. One of the shadowed men beams his light through the window from afar, slowly incoming. Ducking underneath a table out of the window's field of vision, the man approaches the door, but instead begins stringing along the main window shining the light across the entire room, with the light slowly coming closer to Strand's slightly exposed foot. Creeping up, coming inches away from outing them both, the unidentified man comes to a complete stop when he comes across the half eaten cereal bag that Strand was munching on, stopping him in his tracks briefly to inspect the item from the outside. Giving into temptation the figure turns back around towards the door.

 _"Oh shit!"_ Strand whispers in a panic while Alicia looks at the metal bar she grabbed laying across the room and rushes to grab it. Rushing back over towards the door right as the stranger begins to turn the handle, it slowly opens up and the man steps in.

His flashlight switches on, brightening up the room with Alicia standing behind the door. Strand unexpectedly painfully moans from having to sit weird on his foot, giving up his position. The stranger reactively flashes his direction uttering out a surprised, "What the fu..."

 _*Bink!*_   
Alicia slams the metal bar against the guy's head knocking him straight to the ground unconscious. Rallying Strand to get moving, they quickly grab all their stuff, along with the stranger's flashlight and both head out of the room as silently as possible. Sliding against the wall of the building heading towards the front doors as the other four lights progress further into the building away from it.

Scurrying down the stairs as quietly as possible, they head towards the door. Getting near the exit, a shine abruptly illuminates them like deer in headlights.

"Hey! Stop right there!" The assailant says, starting to draw his pistol calling out to his cohorts. "We got live ones here!" 

Ignoring his warning, they keep pressing for the exit and the man fires off a shot, _***Blam!***_ , though missing and blasting against the wall above the door, causing the man to exclaim "Shit!" out loud. 

Bursting through the door Alicia and Strand notice around the multitude of shanked undead surrounding the outside door. Understanding the combatants capabilities, they go a straight line out of the area and make their escape into the night. 

Following them out, all the men reveal themselves in the moonlight to be Proctors, and the one that spotted them watches as they disappear behind an alleyway. Looking at the other members, he exclaims to them, "Check on Sloane upstairs." Just before he starts pulling out a portable ham radio, calling out to the main outpost, clicking the button and phoning in. "Lenora, tell John we've came in contact with the girl and the con. No sign of the mother though. We'll radio back when we've captured them, over."

Pulling down the radio, he turns back to look at his compadres who are pulling the headache riddled Proctor down the stairs and exclaims, "Clean him up and let's get moving."

With the desert heat barreling down on them in broad daylight, Nick and Daniel turn off the main road down a long winding dirt path. Sweating profusely, Nick pulls out a water bottle and takes a drink out of it. Breaking the silence between them, Nick questions, "So what's our plan?"

Looking back at Nick, he cryptically replies back with another question, "You want your family to be safe don't you?"

"Of course."

"Then you know what we have to do now." Sternly, Daniel commands. "As long as the Proctors remain, your family will not be safe."

Pausing, wanting to say something but never getting the words out, he nods to Daniel in agreement but says, "If that's what it'll have to take.."

Both continue onward a bit, and Daniel calls him out, "So Nick, where did you go last night?"

Stunned by his comment, Nick falters a bit, "Oh...Went out for some fresh air and a smoke." 

Surveying his response with machinery like precision, the veteran coolly remarks, "Just heard you walking outside was all. You stayed out there quite a while?"

An oddly timed small grin slithers onto his face and Nick exclaims, "Being behind walls is like being confined in prison... and being in prison isn't exactly safe either these days, so I'd rather take my chances out here, where I know what to expect." Coming upon the gateway to the junkyard they cease their conversation noticing the gate busted through along with a small group of undead spotting throughout the area. Noticing the tanker among the living corpses, Nick relays, "There it is, do you see it?" 

To which Daniel nods, and begins processing the situation. "There isn't many. You go around the side, make enough noise to distract them, and we shouldn't have a problem reaching the vehicle."

Reflectively nodding in agreement, Nick runs off to the side of the fence and begins clanging on the side. The lumbering infected turn towards the noise in curiosity and start following his clangs down the chain link fence hidden behind the sea of unused vehicles. Seeing a clear shot, Daniel emerges from the shadows and starts rushing towards the deserted truck. Nick, hearing the dead coming towards his side of the fence, turns back and rushes towards the gate.

Coming up to the truck, getting up to the driver seat door, Daniel is abruptly interrupted with a lone infected pouncing from behind. Kicking him away, the monster flies against the side of a car. Kicking it once again further back towards the end of the car as it tries to get up, he opens up the door. As it tries to get up, it's hand looms towards him and he slams the arm in the car door. Not shutting entirely, resisting against the thickness of the meat, Daniel aggressively kicks the door completely shut, clicking, as it locks into place. 

Snarling as he walks away, the creature squirms wildly, but he just ignores and continues on his mission, pressing onwards towards the car door. Unexpectedly as the unrelenting infected presses harder, it ignorantly tears through the door pulling it's arm completely off, stretching it's tendons and muscle to shreds in the process, leaving nothing but dangling flesh. Rolling up to the the gate as it occurs, Nick screams out, "Watch out!" as the armless infected pounces from behind Daniel. 

Twirling around reactively, pulling out his Beretta 92A1, he blasts the poor corrupted soul, creating a loud _***Bang!*** _attracting the nearby distracted infected. Noticing time is limited, Nick rushes to the vehicle and both jump in. In a couple turns the vehicle starts right up and Daniel floors the gas pedal. Leaving the vicinity, the two look back to the junkyard towards the small herd trying to follow them out, than at one another, before resuming their adventure onward into the horizon.

"Did you find it yet?" Strand worryingly questions standing outside a gas station into the golden hue of the burning sunlight, to which Alicia shakes her head as he continues to protest. "I'm not exactly keen on being a sitting duck, I'd prefer to be a crow. Crows know when to run and are smart, just as we should be."

Alicia sifts through a tipped over rack with scraps of paper, pulling out a folded map, "Yeah, just one second. We need to figure out where we are. It doesn't matter where we go if we just run in circles."

"Funny, seems as if that's all we've been doing since the start." He sardonically snickers. "Hell I couldn't even lose you guys at the hotel, let alone Daniel from before and after this...I have no doubts we'll meet again. Shit." 

"Seems like you got alot on your mind. Want to talk about it?" She says while also reading the map in the little light they got.

"No thanks. Wouldn't want to _ruin_ the mystique." Dismissing her comment as he slides his fingers through both sides of the collar of his jacket. Gazing back out onto the road, his eyes widen as he suddenly notices two vehicles incoming down the road and Victor bursts into the gas station knocking Alicia over and pulling her behind a counter. 

"What are you...?" Strand presses his fingers against her lips just as Alicia blurts out and shushes her.  
Pulling down and into the street, a heavy duty truck suddenly makes a dead stop in front of the gas station they were looting. All four doors crack open, with one jumping out the back holding a bandage around his forehead. With their jackets in the light, holding the sigil of The Proctors, Alicia and Strand's eyes light up and the two nod to each other to move to the backdoor of the building. 

The lead of the Proctor sub group steps out of the driver seat, surveying the area, announcing to the rest, "Sweep the buildings! Look for any dead that look recently put down and watch your backs. John said to not take them lightly, you've already seen what they're capable of. Go!" 

As the others break off towards the other building around the around, the lead Proctor walks in the building they are sheltered in, they burst through the backdoor making a run for it. The door slams shut, startling the Proctor, who hollers out to the rest, "Boys, I found them! Running out the back!"  
Peeling out the backdoor, panting like dogs trying to haul ass out of dodge, Alicia inquires to Strand, "How are they finding us?!"

"I don't know! We can't stop to question that now though!" Strand stresses with sweat pouring down his cheeks. 

Watching them pull out of view once again through an alleyway, the lead Proctor turns to the others approaching behind him and smiles to the rest.

The sun begins to fall and amidst the darkening downtown interior of the Parque Morelos, a couple pair of legs waltz through the open trails winding throughout the park. With growing low light and on high alert, Alicia and Strand carefully make their way through the area, paranoid as they notice that within their peripherals are lingering shadows. 

Walking on the path through the row of Palm trees scattered around the area, Alicia pipes up quietly stating, "There should be a gardening center nearby, we can take shelter in that."   
Victor nods in agreement returning with, "Four walls and a roof; can't do much better than that these days."

A couple infected appear from behind the trees and try attacking to pair, but within a second are dispatched. Sarcastically replying back, Alicia responds, "If it keeps us from having to deal with this for a night, I guess." Noticing to her left among a small river of palm trees, Alicia tilts her neck towards a decent sized building in the background and points at it, reiterating aloud, "Over there."

Middle of the night, holding a fire inside the darkened interior of the gardening center with dying flowers surrounding the area, the two sit in comfort. After holding it in, Alicia breaks the silence, "Why did you sell the dam?" 

Dealing with the burning question uncharacteristically empathetic, Strand replies, "I thought I could create a home for us, for your family. I didn't expect Nick to show up and sour the deal though."

"Is that what you told my mom too?" Alicia blurts, calling his plan out.

Caught between words, Strand mutters in shame, "It...It was a stupid decision I made after I panicked after Ophelia's situation and what Salazar could've done. Also with what he did to me, I almost felt it was justified...but now..."

Curious and stunned, she asks, "Wait? What happened to Ophelia?"

"She's dead. Got bit in the bunker apparently." Strand coldly states and then tears begin to fall from his eyes. "After that, I wasn't sure what Daniel might do... I thought at the time I was doing the right thing."

Sympathetic, she reaches out and touches his left arm, giving a warming smile, to which he gives one back with tearful restrained glee. Glancing at the moisture in his eyes and without condemning, she replies back firmly, "Mistakes get made so that we can learn from them. As my mom used to say to us as kids; you can't run from your mistakes, sooner or later you'll have to deal with it."

Drifting into a thousand yard stare, Strand falls into a daydream briefly and stands up, quietly grunting, "I'm...going to go empty the tank. I'll be right back."

With the last droplets coming out, dribbling right outside of the backdoor, Strand zips up and opens the door up preparing to walk in. He stops in his tracks, propping the door with his shoe, hearing extra voices in the background. Sneaking in for a better look, he inches around the corner to see Alicia sitting around the fire holding her hands up with a figure pressing a gun to her forehead along with others surrounding him in the dark, yelling out, "I know you aint alone girl!". Slinking back around the corner, Strand starts panic breathing, looking back between the door and towards Alicia. Turning briefly from the door and Longingly looking at Alicia with great regret, he turns his back on her to rush out... _*Thwack!*_ Goes the butt of the gun slamming against the back of his head, dropping him like a sack of bricks.

"That you, Jackie boy?" The lead Proctor calls out.

"Yeah, found the other one. Dumbass was going to make a run for it."

Pulling the gun away from Alicia's forehead laughing as they drag Strand onto the center. Angered and seeing her chance, Alicia whips out her knife and attempts to swipe the lead Proctor in retaliation, who kicks the knife out of her hand and then backhands her. In mocking spite he laughs and calls out, "And you kill me and then what girl? You gon' kill all of us? Hah, don't make me laugh. We going for a trip, John wants to see you." Throwing his hands up to signal to the rest, he yells out, "Bag them up boys, let's go."

The Proctor with the bandaged forehead comes into the light and speaks, "One second Darren. I got something I need to do." As he walks to Alicia who glares at him in vengeful anger, and without hesitation, he backhands her with full force knocking her off her feet onto the ground. 

Looking down at the teenage girl, who's holding her cheek and slightly dazed, angry at the other Proctor; the lead Proctor Darren protests, "Enough Sloane! John wants them alive!" 

Holding his ground, the bandaged Proctor doesn't relent, "Yeah whatever, bitch should be lucky I didn't do more. An inch lower, she could've killed me before. I'd say we far from even." Just as the room starts to heat up, he pulls his both hands up briefly and back down, then goes, "But if that's what John wants..." Looking over at the cowering Alicia, and giving a sadistic subtle grin before looking to the rest, submissive, "Then for now, I'd say we are squared."

Staring the semi-hostile man down before giving in, Darren commands, "Alright, enough shit, let's move out!"

Bumping around on the road in the back of the truck, despite being blinded by a potato sack covering his head and tied around his neck, little bits of sunlight poke through with what appears to be late evening a couple hours before dusk. Strands grunts gathering his space, barely making out what looks to be Alicia, to which he calls out to her, "Alicia? Alicia is that you? Are you ok?"

Quietly responding, she goes, "I'm here. I can't see though."

"Me neither."

Catching the Proctor's attention next to them, he scolds the both of them, "Hey, shut up now or I'll put the both of you to sleep again. We are almost there, just stay quiet and don't try anything stupid."  
Driving down the road and coming upon the massive complex of El Bazar, they pull around the back, loading into their personal park spaces. Everyone starts getting out the vehicle and the two get dragged out of the back. Walking down the halls of the loud booming complex filled with people all throughout, loudspeakers blaring sale rhetoric in Spanish and elevator music that nearly gets drowned out by the crowd below. They make their way down the halls where the nigh overwhelming sound gets diluted by the walls the further they go in. Getting over into the outside where Proctor John's room was, along with the medical rooms down a little ways, Alicia begins to recognize where she is.

Listening to them in the background Alicia overhears, "So did Ray's group make it back to base? Heard they found one of the others?" following a "Nothing yet" by another proctor, with the one Proctor excusing, "Well maybe they were stopped by a horde, we had to stop for a few". 

Suddenly orange dulled light bursts into their face as the Proctors start taking the bags off their heads, they bring them over at the medical office, dropping the both of them off there first. Walking into the room, Alicia and Strand are greeted by the strangely cheery doctor Eddie, who goes, "Nice to see you again miss Clark. I see you didn't get very far, but hey, at least you tried right? So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" 

Darren speaks up standing behind them, "Check them over quick, make sure they don't need any serious treatment. Girl took a couple good hits and the other took a gun to the back of the head, but we're not worried about him, just look after her."

"I see chivalry isn't dead.." Eddie sarcastically jokes and then gets serious. "Well I'll get right to it then."   
"Sloane also took a good hit in the head, but not much he'll lose there. I'm going to let John know they are here. There is a guard posted outside if they try anything." 

Nodding to the Proctor who's turning to leave, Eddie replies, "Thanks Darren, sure thing." Watching him shut the door, he looks to Alicia and Strand in slight awe, "Sounds like you two are in a heap of trouble. Honestly, I'm surprised John didn't just have you shot the moment he found you. You must've impressed him pretty good for him to want to keep you around. Though a pretty girl like you should have no problem wooing the men, am I right?"

Mildly disgusted by his evocative mildly misogynist comment, Alicia redirects the conversation as he pulls her cheek over looking down the bruising, "So where's Diana? Is she alright?"

"The girl you came in with last time?" Eddie recounts, "She's.. fine, as in she's alive. She's still recuperating in the other room. After setting the bone back in place, I hate to say; even completely recovered she'll never be able to fully walk again. I wish I could say there was more I could do, but there isn't."

Accepting the reality Alicia nods back and sorrowfully, but thankfully replies, "Thank you for trying at least. Can I see her?"

"Probably not right now."

The door suddenly opens up with Darren and a couple of other armored Proctors standing around him. Relaying the situation, he announces, "Is she good to go?"

"A little bruising around the cheek, but she should be fine." The doctor answers back.

"Good, John wants to see her."

Noticing the lack of the other, Alicia pipes up worryingly, "What about Strand?"

Darren glares at her and demands, "Your friend has other accommodations with us. If you'd like to make it worse for him, we can arrange that. Now stop dawdling."

Making their way down the halls, the sound of softer music comes from the inside of a room with the twang of a single guitar playing out the beginning of the second half of The Marmalade's' single, Reflections of My Life. Playing off the record, the second verse comes on as they walk into the room, walking into Proctor John sitting with his back turned to the record as the part begins to sing out: 

♪ (The world is, a bad place, a bad place,   
a terrible place to live,   
Ohh, but I don't wanna die) ♪

Quietly finishing the song off, John sits with his fingers pressed against his cheeks holding his neck up, tapping his fingers to the beat and listening intently. The song closes out and John stops the record playing, gently pulling up the tone arm off the record and taking it out of there. Smiling before putting it back in it's case and wheeling himself over to set it on the counter, he breaks the silence muttering out, "Brings me back to the summer of 69', I was a rowdy man back in them days. I remember not liking this song when it came out, preferring the harder stuff from artists like Jimi Hendrix or Pink Floyd, but nowadays, it has a certain charm to it.." Groaning, briefly clutching his back, he turns his chair towards Alicia and states. "I never understood how music having light rhythms juxtaposed by darker undertones could be able mix so well. The two concepts being so far on the different ends of the spectrum, you'd expect it to be too different to work together, and yet, here we are." With a gentle smile and waving the men in the background away, he happily says, "Welcome back, Alicia Clark from Los Angeles. How nice it is to see you again." 

Wasting no time, Alicia questions angrily, "What are you going to do with Strand? Where's my family?"

"Relax pretty girl, as far as we know, you're family and other friends have made it off our radar; except your mother and Strand that is." Sitting back against his chair, he states in admiration, "Though it's been a while since we heard from Ray or the hired hands. Strange the other part of the group made it back, despite you being further away. Maybe your mother and her primal tenacity managed to carve her way onto freedom." Looking spaced, bouncing around the room, he clicks his tongue a couple times and then announces. "I'll have to send a recon group to figure out the situation with our friends at the small marketplace downtown. You and your family have caused us quite a grievance. As for Strand... He will to have to pay for his crimes of deceit and the death of over a dozen of my brothers."

"If your men kill him, I won't work for you." Alicia demands.

Rolling his chair right up to her knees, smiling at her resistance, he firmly states in a cold sinister manner, "You'll do, whatever I tell you. There's no negotiation, you have no choice. If you resist, I'll tear your friends' limbs off one by one as they are still alive and keep them as scarecrows at the front gate to ward off anyone who'll dare think to defy me again, starting with Strand and that girl." Extending his hand out, to which Alicia begrudgingly accepts, he finishes his statement, "Don't worry, I won't have him killed by my Proctors, but we are to leave for Santa Fe in a couple days. Now come, my bandages need to be changed."

Going to the handles and wheeling him out of the room, she defiantly proclaims to the crippled elderly man, "If my family ever knows I'm here, nothing is going to stop them from finding me."

"My dear, that's just what I'm counting on." Unfazed by her threat, he snobs and reflects back her hostility, "For your sake, let's best hope they don't..."

In the blanket of night lit up by the torches posted outside, With both his arms outstretched and tied to a cross by rope like a crucifixion; a battered and freshly beaten Strand gets held up on a post outside the gate of the Bazar. One of the Proctors starts laughing at his misery and begins mocking Strand, "Proctor John gave us orders not to kill you ourselves, but the dead don't discriminate do they? You got away from us the first time out of luck and you were stupid enough to try to screw us a second time? Damn you are some special kind of stupid." Looking far down the street as a couple infected appear around the hill ambling towards them, he reverberates the mockery with a giant smile. "Y'see, greed makes man blind and foolish and makes him an easy prey for death. Try slithering out of this one you son of a bitch."

The Proctors leave him to hang by his hands suspended in air. Strand begins to panic noticing the infected lumbering in the distance, tears flowing down his cheek, washing the blood coming off the scrapes on his face, screaming helplessly into the night, his hollers echoing into the blackened sky as he cries, "No! No! Don't leave me! No, please! No!!" 

_ **Writer: BetterAngels195** _


	3. Dionysus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madison enacts her mission to rescue Ramón's children from the clutches of The Proctors, while Alicia comes to a realization between compassion for others and survival for herself.

**DISCLAIMER : This is a non canon fan written story. All characters from the TV show are owned by AMC and Robert Kirkman, not me. I'm just a dude. All original creations are mine though.**

Dragging the battered Ramón into his room, where there sits two mattresses along with a few pictures frames scattered all around and a giant metal cross stapled to the wall hanging above the unframed bed. Taqa and Lee lay him on the mattress, with Madison tearing the drawers apart and searching the bathroom for medications to treat him. Beaten to barely unrecognizable proportions along with the faceplant on the ground, Ramón groans out in extreme pain. 

Managing to find some medication and bandages, but not nearly enough to treat him, Madison shamefully walks back into the room announcing, "I couldn't find much, but a suture kit with a little thread, bandages, his bottle of whiskey for numbness and some low grade pain med..."

"It's not going to matter, just save it." Stopping her dead in her tracks confusing Madison, Crazy Dog sorrowfully admits and then opens the poor middle aged man's shirt up, revealing what looks like a large discolored bruise going up his right rib-line, "He's got massive internal bleeding. Bastards broke his ribs and it must've punctured an organ. Unless one of us is a skilled surgeon, he's not going to make it much longer.. and you know what'll happen after that." 

Swallowing her shame, breathing deeply, Madison professes, "I'll do it."

"He's still awake yet, should we see what he wants to do?" Taqa ponders.  
Just nodding in agreement, she slowly shambles up to the dying man, kneels down next to him in his bedding and whispers to him, "Ramón? Ramón are you there?"

Having watched her walk over, a big smile comes across his face and he whispers back sweetly, "M...Mariam?"

Taken back by the delirium starting to set in, she answers assuredly, "No it's me, Madison." 

His smile fades hearing her name, with his eyes watering and cries out, "Señora?...My..My daughters?"

"I'll get them back, don't worry. You have my word." Glaring remorsefully at the others, she then turns back to her dying ally who's filling with tears and states, "Now Ramón, I have to ask you this: What do you want to happen now?"

Turning away to stare at the ceiling, leaving the room with an empty silence, he quietly pipes in noticably losing breath, " _Perdóname_...Must leave...find new home...live...."

"What?" His eyes start to close and Madison shakes him a bit awake, yelling "Ramón!", to which his eyes reopen once more, and he slowly turns his head towards her.

Looking almost through her now with blank eyes, he starts rambling out of conversation in clear english/spanish with small crackles in his voice pushing it out, "No matter how far you run or where you go, or how loud you scream... It'll always find you... _Perdóname señor, porque he pecado_..." He starts trailing off, rambling incoherently consistent with a large exhale that extends further than his words and then abruptly ends following nothing more but a dead pan soulless stare. 

Bewildered by his final statements, Madison just sits complacently staring at the poor man's lifeless body. His chest no longer heaving and his eyes staring blankly. Holding the knife to his head, she plunges it in the side of his temple. Looking at his face, with his blank glare still eyeing her down, she peels the lids over his eyes, stands up and walks past Taqa and Lee straight out the room. 

Breaking down, leaning back against the wall, she wails angrily, "This is all my fault. He was just trying to help. He didn't deserve this! He was innocent! His children were innocent!"

Trying to console, Taqa pipes in, "It's not your fault for the actions of evil men preying on the innocent. I've seen first hand the unjust nature of such things. You didn't pull the trigger Madison."

"No, but I gave them the gun to shoot with. He wouldn't be in this if it weren't for me." She answers back with her slight southern twang and then proceeds to grab the bottle, giving a massive chug, before dropping it from her chin with a big exhale, exclaiming. "We can't let these bastards get away with this."

Hearing her words, Walker just smiles and nods stating for reassurance, "Just make sure your honor doesn't get in the way of your decision making."

"My mind's been made up Taqa. Ever since we got here." Madison firmly declares, "We are going to the Bazar, we are getting his daughters back. I gave my word to Ramón and I intend to keep it."

Understanding, he gives her space and retreats to his friend Crazy Dog, leaving Madison just staring intently at the space between atoms.

As they are all getting ready to walk out the door, Crazy Dog quickly asks, "Hey Madison, may I speak with you for a minute?" Looking to his friend, he insists to Taqa, "Alone, please."

Catching her and Walker off guard, Lee goes to sit at the kitchen table, signaling to his brother in arms an 'ok' nod, which is returned with a valiant one before Taqa walks out the door. Madison walks back into the room, returning Lee's question with another, "Sure. What's this about?"

He signals for her to sit down and Madison sits in the chair across the table from him. Pausing briefly, he tries hard to avoid looking in her eyes before staring intently and confessing, "Madison, there's something I need to get off my chest and if I don't say this now, I never will." Swallowing his pride, he admits. "I was the one who killed your husband. We were returning home from a scouting mission and we saw the helicopter that belonged to the Ottos. I was told to shoot at it, so I did. I thought it was a good thing at the time... and then I met you and your family and seen the damage I caused.." Madison's eyes grow grim and cold despite the air heating up, and she stares down onto the ground in a blank soulless gaze. Despite this, he sorrowfully continues his confession, remorsefully stating, "I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'd like you to know that I **am** sorry. From what I've heard, I would've liked to have known Travis; he sounded fierce. I never meant for it to be that way."

Sitting across from him in an emotionless hollow gaze into the oblivion, Madison suddenly breaks from this trance answering back vaguely, "Hear that alot these days..."

Despite her tone, he presses on, "When we were leaving, I convinced Taqa to turn back. He has too much pride to admit his faults, he'd never say it. No matter what, I couldn't live with myself without telling you this. I hope you understand that I'll accept my punishment when it comes time, but for now, I think you can agree you need me here."

Gracious but stern, Madison subtly nods to his honest gesture, standing up and proceeding to exit the room. Just before out of sight she turns towards Lee, gives a nightmarish side stare and says to the guilty man, "I thank you for being honest with me, Lee? I don't believe I ever caught your last name."

"Rain. It's Lee Rain."

"Lee Rain, I see... I do I thank you Lee Rain. It couldn't have been easy to admit to the widow you were her husband's murderer, but just so you know, I'll never forgive you no matter what you say. You took a good man from this world and while I understand the situation and why you did it, I can't... I **won't** forgive." Her eyes start to gleam and she lifts her chin, staring down on the guilty man in pure dissonant serenity, "I may have let it slide at the ranch because of the truce, but out here? You ever mention his name or threaten my family again, I'll slit your throat and watch you choke on your own blood. Understood?"

Eyes widened to her heavy comments, but in full realization of her motives, he just nods understanding calmly and relays mournfully submissive, "Understood."

Both in agreement, she swivels herself hard and walks away from the structure onto the outside toward Taqa, who greets her with a simple, "Figure out what you needed to?"

Madison nods and answers, "Let's focus on the mission, shall we."

In agreement, Taqa spouts, "Agreed. We should be able to make it by nightfall if we start now." 

Crazy Dog follows shortly behind out the door, and the three of them open the outside gate outside into the streets. All looking towards each other, they begin to venture into the backdrop of Tijuana.

Hours pass as the day turns to night and the two of them come upon El Bazar in all it's corrupted nighttime beauty. Looking over the area in an outpost above the Bazar gates, A Proctor stares intently towards the group of chained prisoners fending off a group of undead. Noticing a chained survivor having trouble fighting off an infected that lunged behind him, the armed guard starts laughing, remarking to himself, "Dumbass. Should've been watching his own ass instead of others." 

"Agreed."

The Proctors's eyes widen as a knife comes from behind, glides against his neckline, tearing his throat open, spilling large amounts of crimson all over and dropping the man to the floor. Behind him shrouded in shadow stands Walker clenching the knife, who turns to signal his companions in the distance with a flicker of light. 

Noticing the signal, sitting in the Proctor's spare truck sitting around the block barely overseeing the complex, Madison turns to Lee and nods. Getting out the truck and pulling out the bolt cutters, he goes down the line snipping each jailed person's chain one by one, each saved person letting out a variation of " _thank you_ ". Getting down towards the front of the gate, he suddenly stops at one particular person. 

Shocked by the brutality, but not shocked by the person in question, Crazy Dog, almost laughing, announces to his companion, "Come out. You need to see this for yourself."

Bolting the door open, holding her hands on her holster coming out, Madison shuts the truck off and walks over to Lee. Noticing an old treacherous ally suspended by ropes, Madison scorns sarcastically, "Well holy shit... How's it hanging Victor? Or was that a bit too soon?"

With barely any strength, bruising and swelling his face, barely being able to see, Strand looks up. His voice weakening from from all the yelling, Strand horsely calls out in a strained attempt, "Madison? Madison is that you?"

She coldly mocks plunging her hands on her hips, "You've seen better times haven't you? You regret making that deal yet Victor?"

Crying out, Strand pleas to her, "Please Madison...I wasn't...It wasn't supposed to go down like that! I was trying to make a home for all of us..."

"Cut the shit, I don't care to hear it. Just an echoed excuse. You put my children and myself in danger. For all I care, you can get chewed up and as far as I'm concerned, our debt was settled long ago." Speaking stern and unsympathetic to his cause, "You are nothing but dead weight and a detriment to us all. That's all I see you as now."

Strand's heart drops and tears begin to flow through his face, watching as she turns her head away. In a desperate attempt he bellows out, "They have Alicia! I know where she is, I can show you where!" 

Taken back by his statement, she tilts her head up slightly angered, but determined, Madison questions him back, "Tell me where and I'll think about it."

Seemingly having the leverage, he answers back confidently, "Proctor John has her in one of the outside buildings, and he won't let her go easily. I can show you where, but you'll have to let me down. Agreed?"

"You just don't get it, do you Victor? I don't have to do a damn thing." Looking around the area, she notes to him, "I'm thinking to myself, if my children or I were in this position; would you have come back for us?"

"Madison please...don't..."

"Enough bullshit Victor. If you would've listened to me, none of this would have happened. That's what you should have done." Watching him squirm and writhe in agony, she hearkens out, "You made this mistake. Daniel, Lola, Efrain, all of them. All that death. That blood is on your hands. From where I'm standing, this is what you deserve."

Out of words, Strand just cries into his chest, so ashamed he can't even look into her face. Watching the tied man wet his shirt like a fountain, and changing the narrative out of the blue, she signals Taqa remarking "Do it.". 

Confused, Taqa begins to vengefully protest, "Madison? This filth doesn't deserve mercy. You know what he's like and you've seen what he's done?"

"I do and I have, but we are done playing _games_ , aren't we Victor? We are going to listen without question now? Right?" Growling in rhetoric, locking eyes with the beaten man.

"Yes!..Please..."

"Good." She says with a sinister smile, and with each chop of the rope, a limp dangles away, with the final stroke plummeting him to the ground. Catching him before he smacks the pavement and helping to pull him down, Madison then promptly grabs his collar and thrusts him against the fence. Propping Strand up, she delegates, "Now remember this you son of a bitch: You are obliged to me now. Threaten my family again, and I'll kill you myself."

Frightened by her words, being held up by her and Taqa, cowers and shamefully agrees to her notion with tearful vertical head shakes of realization. 

Thrusting her hands off of him, she walks away as he drops to his knees, looking onwards towards the facility and confidently professes to the group, "Now let's end this shit."

**FEAR THE WALKING DEAD**

_ **The Forgotten Fear** _

**A fan written continuation based on the series created by Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman**

Standing outside the gates, Madison looks around, scoping the area out. Out in the distance, between some cars, she sees the checkpoint in front of the Bazar. She sees the snobby teller woman from before who hassled them out of credits (Season 3x10, 3x14), radioing to others how she's going on break because the other teller is late, and that it's quiet out tonight anyways. Looking back on her little group, Madison proclaims to Crazy Dog, "Take Victor with you to the vantage point." To which he unquestionably nods, beginning to walk off carrying the wounded man underneath his wing, but then she raises her hand up to stop him, "And Lee? If he tries to run away, you know what to do. Wouldn't want a liability. We'll radio you if we need you." With Strand frightfully bowing to her words, Madison looks over at Crazy Dog who just mildly chuckles, with the con man cowardly lowering his head. 

"And us?" Exclaims Taqa, watching the other two walk off.

"We, are going to get some information on Ramón's kids' whereabouts. I have an idea how." Looking into the glare of the Bazar's lights gleaming off her eyes, she announces assertively and notices in the background some infected lumbering their way ominously, "Then I'm going to find my daughter."

Puffing out a bloom of ciggarrette smoke, the moody teller sits on the side of the bazar out of view of the entrance next to the side which is shrouded in shadow. Pulling the filter to her lips to huff another, she's suddenly stopped by a _*click*_. Tilting her head over is a cocked pistol a foot away aimed at her head, with the holder of the weapon remaining in the darkness away from the light. Slowly stepping forward in the light, scowling with passion burning in her eyes is Madison clenching the gun. The woman holds her hands up, and Madison questions aggressively, "What's your name?"

"Look, whatever you want lady, you're not going to get. Do you have any Idea where you're..." She protests before getting cut off violently as *Smack!* Goes the butt of the pistol cracking the woman across the face. Blood pours like a fountain down her face, and the woman cradles her nose.  
Pushing her against the wall, Madison presses the gun into the temple of the woman and repeats, "I said; What's your name?"

"Le...Lenora. Bitch! I think you broke my nose!" Cries the teller.

"Well _Lenora_ , You want to be alive by the end of this? Don't attract too much attention, shut up, and do what I say." Slamming the gun into her back, Madison grabs onto Lenora's shoulder sleeve and they walk forward. Going towards the gate around the corner, Madison asks, "Two girls came in with some Proctors earlier in the day, where are they now? One is late teen and the other is pre teen. Not hard to miss in a shithole like this."

Her eyes darting all over the place, Lenora nasally responds clenching her nose, "You are better off cutting your losses and running for it. At least you'd have a chance to survive the end of this.." Noticing Madison's death glare, she quickly changes tone, answering, "If there are prisoners, your best shot is in the marketplace or 'The Rooms', if they haven't been sold already. It's guarded by alot of Proctors. You're crazy if you think you've got a chance on your own."

"My daughter is in there, so 'crazy' sounds just about right to me. Though I'll remember to ask for your opinion next time I raid another armed survivor complex. Shut up and keep walking." Pinching the gun once more against Lenora's spine, both keep pushing forward.

Walking next to the ticket stands where they kept equipment, the hostage woman notices the LQ-101 Long Distance Radio that Madison gave her (Season 3x10) and without a moment's notice, Lenora elbows Madison in the gut, lunging at the radio. Gathering herself and coughing from the hit, Madison looks up to see her pulling out the radio and turning it on. The static's fuzz echoes, and then she clicks the button causing the device to let out it's quick _*beep beep*_ sound. 

Opening her mouth to let out some words, she's abruptly halted by Madison... 

_*Smack! Smack! Smack!*_

Bashing her repeatedly a couple times with the butt of her gun. Switching her brutality, the disgruntled angry mother then wraps her fingers around Lenora's throat, and begins to squeeze. The woman frantically tries to squirm away, swiping and wiggling, but with each second of having her neck being constricted along with her face's color slowly transitioning from pale to purple, she slowly begins to wind down before finally dropping all together like a rag doll. 

Watching the whole thing unfold, Taqa comes out from the shadows announcing his presence in shocked horror, "Madison?"

"I'm done playing games Taqa, we couldn't have her blowing our cover. Either way, we don't need her to get in, she told me all I needed to know." Justifying to herself, unlatching from Lenora's throat. Looking over at her old radio, she then nabs that off the ground remarking, "I'll take that back."

_"We made it to the gate, we're fine. You guys in position yet?"_ Madison's voice echoes over Lee's radio as they forage through a nearby abandoned restaurant filled to the brim with corpses lying on the ground and in booths. 

Looking over at Strand in the distance, who's sifting through cupboards on his knees, Lee turns back to the radio and returns communication, "Not yet. I'm waiting for our 'friend' here to hurry his ass up."  
Yanking out a wine bottle from the back of the bar, Strand shines a lighter's flame over the front to read 'Medium Dry Amontillado', which gives the sly man a grand smile amid his puffy cheek causing him to remark aloud, "'For the love of god Montressor'; Oh how poetic."

"You done over there? Roof access is over here."

"Done enough for the time being. Wouldn't want to test your patience after how I've been tied to a post and left for dead just recently." Strand blurts outright calling him out.

Looking at him in a stare down "Whatever, let's hurry it up."

"Yes sir. Into the catacombs we go." Sarcastically replying, saluting him in the process just to mock the increasingly angered man who just eyes Strand the whole way up the stairs.

Throwing bloody, puss filled gauss in the trash, along with snapping off her plastic gloves, Alicia puts the antibiotic medication back in a drawer, while Proctor John pulls his shirt down over the new bandage on his back. Just as he's lowering it down, Alicia catches a glimpse of multiple slash scars all across his bare back. The crippled man struggles to get onto his feet, and Alicia goes to help him, but he pushes her away, pulling himself onto his feet to waddle to his chair where he plops down into it.

"While I appreciate the thought darling, I'll need to be able to do some of these things myself, if need be." Responding to her generosity, he then commands, "Now would you please bring me over to El Matrife. We've got matters to discuss regarding some products he's making for my men." 

Grasping onto the handles of his wheelchair, they open the door and begin strolling out of the medical room. Nodding to Darren lingering outside the door, all three begin walking down the halls, with his henchmen Proctor lagging behind clenching his rifle. 

Proctor john reminiscing on past times, confesses to the girl, "I remember back in the day with me and my sister. She was a sweet girl too, like you, always trying to do the right thing even when it's against their best interest. We lived in a small house outside of LA in the suburbs with our grandmother after our parents died tragically in a car accident." The older man riding in his wheel chair just sighs sorrowfully at the statement.

Understanding his feelings, she empathizes with the enemy, "I know what that feels like, my father died in a car collision too. It nearly broke my brother." 

"My sister took it hard too, becoming reckless, and drinking heavily. As time went on, it only got worse for us. Couple years later, our grandmother was diagnosed with some kind of terminal cancer; though forgive me, I can't recall just what kind it was. My mind gets rather cloudy lately with these medications Eddie forces me to take. It's been getting rather sickening." Beginning to lose track going into a daze, he shakes it off and reverts back to the beginning, "But, back on topic, when the doctor diagnosed my grandmother, they gave her maybe two years to live with treatments, and I shit you not, for four and a half years, that spiteful bitch remained alive. Despite all that pain, she just kept on going, pushing past her expected limits. All that persistence, I don't know how she did it." 

"Can I ask what happened to your sister?" Curious, she persists on his personal knowledge. 

"My little sister has been dead for a couple decades now. She's one of the main reasons I decided to push The Proctors beyond a mere LA motorcycle club and into arms dealing throughout the Baja region; nothing to hold us back from that point. One of our rival clubs, in retaliation for a beating they received at one of our local bars, had kidnapped, raped, and shot her twelve times point blank. She wasn't even apart of any of it either, a complete innocent..." Growling in his words, straining to say the rest, he grits his teeth and mutters out, "To add insult to injury, they then dumped her poor defiled bare corpse outside my home like a goddamn calling card. I searched for weeks for the ones who did it. I found them eventually. Made them wish for death and like everything involving violence, what had started as retaliation for my sister, evolved into something more. Such as life and it's cycle of torture." 

"I'm sorry to hear that. " Confused by his abrupt confessions, for his personal bliss, she questions, "So why are you so open about your life all of a sudden? What's the point of this conversation?" 

"What's the point these days in general? We live in a world of uncertainty and secrets only lead to mistrust, and I despise liars. That, and there is something that'll put the truth into an even bigger light; _I'm dying_ Alicia." Contently sitting in silence staring into oblivion briefly before continuing his explanation, "Before the dead rising, what had started as a lump on my back had turned into Spinal Cancer. Without any radiation or chemotherapy, it's just a matter of months now, maybe. The removal of the tumor was a temporary solution, as a means for my limited mobility." Opening up the door into the stadium, the debilitated biker leader exclaims to the young girl, "Being a head figure among many factions stretching from the coast of Tijuana to the gulf, this is to be my final legacy. It's dog eat dog as the people out there are torn apart by teeth, bullets and their own ideals; drowning amidst their own personal nightmares. Leadership takes many things. You may want to do everything in your power to save them, but in the end it'll be pointless, the world is cruel and unfair. Not everyone will respect you, some will challenge your position and despite your nature, you'll be hated for who you are regardless where you stand. Be too nice and your generosity will be repaid in blood as they hang your corpse from the castle declaring you 'the monster'. Our friend, 'The Water Queen' found that one out the hard way." Scornfully ridiculing the dam's predecessor with a small laugh, John admits, "I fight time and those around me. Order takes power, and power takes at least one of two things; Respect, and Fear. One of which can be easily broken. Now without order, this'll all fall apart. Tell me darling, look around yourself and answer this. Am I the evil monster you paint me to be? Or am I necessary?" 

Looking down in disgust, without hiding her feelings, she speaks out his cruelty, "I think you've enjoyed it. You didn't have to kill those people at the dam, you wanted to. How can you justify that?"

Clutching the wheel hard to stop in the middle of the hallway just outside of El Matrife's place, she backs away from handles and he his lifts head, along with the chair halfway to look right at her stating firmly, "I take no pleasure in my actions, but solace in the reassurance for my Proctor's future. Foundations are built by the destruction of what came before it. I'm just making sure I'm the one who's holding the gun and not somebody worse. You see, leaving those alive after a coup leaves risk for a mutiny. Violence is a necessity for the foundation of civilization."   
"Then what's that make me? Doesn't having me so close make me a liability too?" Seemingly calling out the hole in his logic, causing him to smile.

"You're an anomaly, just like your family. Now are you saying you're going to kill me miss Clark?" With that sinister smile of his, he breaks out in laughter, but quickly reverts back to serious as he snide at her, "You may have killed pretty girl, but you're not a killer; unlike your family. What's good doesn't last long in this world and I happen to find you interesting, so don't be in such a rush to face death just yet. They'll be plenty of that later." Pulling on the wheel, swiveling back around he signals her to leave, graciously telling her, "Thank you for the company. I'll take it from here now."

"I want to see Diana; the girl I came in with before. Where is she?" Alicia waveringly asserts to the wheelchair bound man who turns once towards her and just leans forward listening to her question intently. 

Locking eyes in a stare down briefly, he suddenly grows a big gentle smile and inquires to his Proctor, "Very well. Darren? Could you escort her to the infirmary where the injured girl with the broken leg is being held? Eddie should be just about done with his daily checkups too. After he's finished, make sure to send him to me." 

"Sure thing John." The Proctor nods to his request and Alicia goes off with him.

Walking down the main hallway towards the opening of the parking lot, one of the other tellers Johnny (Season 3x14), heads back towards his ticket booth. Just as he hits the opening, he notices Lenora standing upright at her booth with her back turned to him. Apologizing for his tardiness, he speaks to the unresponsive oddly postured woman, blurting out, "Hey, I'm sorry Lenora. I got held up in the bathroom. I can take your shift now if you'd like.." Completely frigid to his comments, he walks up closer and puts his hand on her shoulder, worryingly repeating, "Lenora?"

As his hand clasps her shoulder, she quickly twists her head around amorphously, and plunges her battered face into his neck. Sinking her teeth in his flesh, she tears out his trachea making him unable to scream, and starts munching on his innards. Coming to a complete stop after being distracted from nearby civilians yelling inside the interior of the Bazar. Snarling like an animal, she drags her body to her feet and begins shambling towards the noise. 

The teller Johnny chokes on his blood in the background, before finally coming to a complete stop. After a few seconds, his eyes cloud up and he too begins to roll back on his feet, spewing guttural noise with his dangling throat and starts following suit down the hallway with many more appearing from the backs of cars in the distance shambling towards the front gate.

Sneaking into the large marketplace area, with Madison wears a baseball cap and a beige sweatshirt to disguise herself and Taqa lagging shortly behind sporting his usual attire. Through the crowds of people, passing by the many salesman, prostitutes and tattoo artists littering the place that they remembered from before. Amid the sea of partying, loud booming speakers, and capitalization on the naive, scanning the crowd intensely for any sign of Alicia, Angelina or Isabelle, they find no sign anywhere through quickly brushing throughout the place. Walking further towards the middle, Madison catches a glimpse of what looks like Angelina in the crowd handing items to strangers, but as soon as she sees her she bump arms with an asian man, briefly locking eyes awkwardly with the man, who nonchalantly continues walking away. Looking around, Madison notices all the armored Proctors loitering the area. 

"We should get out of the crowd. It feels like there are eyes everywhere." Looking up into the seating stands, she notes to her ally, "A good vantage point to help get an overview of the place should be good for a start." 

"Agreed. Let's make our way through those doors," Pointing over at an exit, Taqa insists.

Walking over towards the door, a rambunctious drunken man yelling at a vendor gets tackled over by a couple Proctors wearing a grey duster and pushed into Madison, knocking her hat off and her over onto the ground. The couple Proctors surround the man and arrest him by tying him with strip ties, one of which comes over to Madison to apologize, "Sorry for that mam, here's your hat back."

Trying hard not to look him straight in the face, her heart beating every second around him in adrenaline fueled anticipation, she snatches the hat and quickly puts it on noting insincerely, "thank you", before hurrying away from the Proctor. 

Watching her and Taqa scurry away, The Proctor strangely gets suspicious and radios out to other fellow members curiously noting, "Hey man, you know if Lenora or Johnny boy mentioned any newcomers fitting the description of those Wanted people John was looking for?"

Amidst the static, a voice talks back, "Sorry Zig. Haven't heard much from them in a while.

"You want to do me a favor? Could you send some guys to go down and check on them for me? I've got my hands full at the moment." The Proctor nicely asks.

"No problem. Let you know once I hear back." The guy speaks through, of which he gets a resounding "Thanks" back. 

Walking down the hallway Darren begins to pull the keys out of his pockets for the medical room. As they turn the corner to make their way to the operating room, The Proctor with the bandaged head from Alicia's attack, passes by and gives Alicia a predatory devilish glare. Noticing his reaction, Darren hearkens out, "Just keep walking Sloane."

"You giving me orders now Darren?" The man growls.

"Don't need any trouble right now. Just keep walking."

Sloane cackles, brushing his hand at them, snarling at Alicia, "Catch you later little girl" and walks away. Darren sighs and then proceeds to show Alicia where the door is. 

Coming upon it, he pulls out his keys, unlocks the door. Extending his arms for Alicia to walk through into the medical room. Stepping through the brightly lit room he relays to her, "I'll be just outside the door, try anything funny and you'll regret it."

Walking inside, Alicia is met with a heavily breathing, pained Diana who's lying on the table with a cast around her leg. Lying there, Diana turns her head, and her eyes widen but then drop suddenly upon seeing her former ally, then Diana coldly turns back to the ceiling despondently remarking, "Stupid girl, shoulda ran while you had the chance."

"Wasn't going to leave you on the road to die. I thought we were a pretty good team after all, before the leg that is." Alicia quickly responds sardonically standing at the edge of Diana's bed.

Lying on the bed, she starts chuckling a bit, turns her head towards her again then slowly gets grim muttering, "Nice thoughts, but don't kid yourself, I'm not getting out of this now." Looking down at her leg, noticing the reality, Diana spouts, "You see Alicia, that's why there's nothing but the killing. People, friends, your family; they are going to be your deathbed if you keep going as you are. It's not the monsters that keep me awake at night, it's the people, _them_. The connections we feel towards others and what happens when that goes away, that's the shit that really sticks deep. We'll throw ourselves in danger over that."

Shaking her head in disagreement, Alicia protests, "But that what makes us human Diana. We need people to survive. If everyone gave up, there'd never be life to begin with."

Looking through her in a thousand yard stare, she depressingly sputters out, "You can't save everybody pretty girl." 

Alicia determinedly responds pulling up her sleeve to show her tattoo to the injured woman, "There's got to be more after this, it just can't be killing all the time. A couple of people I cared about that died taught me that. I'd rather try, I won't give up. I promised them that and that's why I made this."

"You're a good person Alicia, I wish I could've met you before this." Diana softly says.

"Well we got time now, don't we?" Alicia states with a sweet smile to which is relayed back to her by Diana.

Sitting on the ground, drinking his wine, Strand looks over to Lee, who's pressed against the scope of his rifle overseeing the Bazar and breaks the silence, spouting, "So what's a way to pass the time? I'm thinking... 'I Spy'? I think I'll start first; I Spy something orange and blue." 

Scoffing, Crazy Dog cuts him off and mocks, "You know, it's funny they cut you down from the ropes. Personally, I'd have left you. I've maybe spent an hour or two with you, and I'm already wishing they would have."

The bruised con man sarcastically laughs and asks, "I don't believe we've formally met; Victor Strand. And you are?"

"Lee Rain, but my unit called me 'Crazy Dog'. I was called that because apparently I had a _short fuse_." Emphasizing the last words to him aggressively.

"Well, my mother named me that, because _I'll always win_." Slithering a little bitter distaste in his words, Victor notices a similarity and comments, "So...That would make you the one who killed Travis then? It's funny she keeps you around either. Starting to look like we're on the same side in this equation. Eh?"

Growling in his words, Lee grunts, "I'm not on your side, I'm on Madison's side and if you aren't there, then what side does that put you on?"

Strand heaves out a couple subtle chuckles and then changes tone out of nowhere, tearfully stating eyes gleaming against the moonlight, "Generally whatever side has kept me alive, but lately I've been thinking alot of strange thoughts since the beginning of all this. Look, I know who I am and what I've done, and I won't kid myself into thinking I can escape my providence, but I've come to thid conclusion: the good deserve the chance to live, but we... We're not good people." Looking outward onto the horizon overlooking the Bazar, his eyes gleam in the moonlight, and the sniper just listens intently, "I know what's coming. There's only two ways it can end. I guess we'll just have to wait to see what the butcher has in store for me."

Sloshing back the wine bottle he found in the store, he stops and passes it to Crazy Dog, who grabs and takes a single swig, remarking to Strand, "Maybe..Maybe there's another way?" 

Passing it back to it's owner, while mainting a dejected half cocked smirk, swiveling his finger around the circle of the wine bottle's logo, he then remarks a single "Salud" and takes another big swig.

Jogging down a long hallway full of the former bull stables, Madison conveys to Taqa, "I think I seen Angelina in the marketplace. We couldn't linger long enough to be spotted though."  
Catching their breaths, gasping for air, muttering out, "We're lucky we did have our cover blown with the gaurd." 

"Let's just get to an overlook and see if we can spot her.." She states before stopping cold in her steps, along with Taqa.

Walking down the hallway are two asian men who stop adjacent to one another in front of them blocking our protagonists' way and turning back around they see another two more blocking behind them. Clapping her hands in glee, standing behind the duo bellows a familiar voice speaking in a foreign Chinese tongue, "Lìng rén yìnxiàng shēnkè. I'm surprised you managed to make it this make far, assuming they haven't already caught on." 

Turning around to face their opposition, knowing the jig is up, surrounded by goons, the duo come face to face with Maria Lu, the Chinese/Mexican trader (Season 3x10). Understanding the situation, pressing her hand on her holster, Madison attempts to negotiate, "There doesn't have to be any trouble here. We can come to an agreement."

"What's it worth to me? The Proctors have a better deal than anything you could present here. Why help you?" Countering, the trader laughably ignores Madison's displeaser. 

Looking at his distressed ally, who nods, Taqa intervenes by stating, "There's an abandoned ranch up north a ways passed the border where plenty more of that gold was being held. On top of that, there alot of guns and supplies we were forced to abandon while leaving."

Adding to the context, Madison tactfully adds on, "Proctor John may be able to provide short term stability here, but what if we could give you something long lasting?"

Intrigued, Maria Lu let's out a little smile and remarks, "Go on? What do you propose?"

"We'll show you where Brokejaw Ranch is if you'll let us finish our mission. That's it. Years worth of supplies hunkering in that place just waiting to be picked by someone like you." Spicing up the deal, she proclaims.

Thinking it over, Maria Lu presses her long fingernails against her cheek, tapping up and down in a decisive ponder, she then comes to a conclusion with a giant smile, "Deal. But we'll your friend is collateral until then."

Enraged, Taqa protests as he's being grappled by multiple men, "Madison, you cannot agree! I will not be some prisoner over this!"

Looking away, she sadly admits, "It's the only way of getting this done Taqa. Stop resisting, I will be back for you soon." Unsure of her survival, a domineering Madison demands to the trader, "I'll need help to get this done since you are taking my help. I also need help in finding 'The Rooms'."

"Not happening, if my people get spotted, it's over for all of us and I will not be involved in such a matter." Rejecting her proposal. 

Flustered, Madison bypasses the group and Taqa who's hands are binded in restraints, walking right to the opening overlooking the marketplace. Overseeing the area, looking among all the faces. Monitoring a group of kids who are funneling in and out of a back room, Madison notices what for sure seems to be Angelina walking out of the backroom into the crowd. Turning back around, looking hopeful, Madison opens her mouth to address what she's seen, but before she can breathe out a word the marketplace erupts in Machine gun fire.

Reporting back to the Proctor, Zig, that Madison bumped into, a voice frightfully screams through the radio static in a panic, "Warn John! We're under attack! Evacuate now!" and before he could answer back, attempting to burst through the door is a Proctor who screams bloody murder "Run!" as a multitude of gored, mutilated, purplish arms pull him back behind the door. Swinging back and forth, the scene behind the door showing glimpses of infected tearing into the man and as each swing of the door reveals, they rip him clean in half devouring his guts. 

A brief moment of silence gets cut short as the multitude of undead monsters begin smashing the door open, pouring into the stadium at a mildly quick rate causing the crowds of people to freak out in a frenzy of chaos knocking stands over and trampling one another to get away. In the frenzy Proctors attempt to jump in, firing blindly into the undead who lunge at individuals running all around, creating more destruction. 

Zig turns his radio dial to others and screams into the speaker, "Infected in the complex! I think we are under attack! Warn Proctor John right away! I repeat, we are under attack!"

Sitting in Proctor John's room listening to some Jimmi Hendrix, Eddie puts his medical tools away while Proctor John staring longingly at his Doctor, quickly mentions to him, "I've never said it before, but I thank you Eddie. I know I've been hard on you lately, but you've always been a loyal and resourceful friend to my brothers over the years."

Having his back turned, placing his suture kit in a bag, he mutters out, "Just doing my job John. You pulled me out of a bad situation and kept me safe during a bad time, it's only fair. Just please stop making my job harder by pushing it like you did on the bridge."

"Dooley noted." Proctor John sarcastically quips with a smirk, but then gets overshadowed by his radio going off.

Yelling into the speaker, the Proctor on the other end shouts, " _John! John are you there? We have reports of large amounts of infected breaching the marketplace_!"

Pressing the button to speak through, he responds in a serious tone, "Repeat that again. What are you talking about?"

_"Zig's on the ground floor, he's saying we are under attack. Should we send a few men to clean it up down there?"_

Staring obliviously in deep thought, John radios back angrily, "Call everyone you can reach and pull them back. Pack everything you can, pull the trucks around back now, we are leaving; Tijuana is a lost cause, we're done here. Radio Darren and tell him to bring the girl immediately."

Panicked, Madison demands aggressively once more, "I need one of your men now! No more negotiating, I need to get that girl out of there now and find the other. Now where are 'The Rooms'?"

Reluctantly agreeing, Maria Lu looks to her comrades stating in her native tongue and jerking her head in Madison's direction, "Hé tā yīqǐ qù." Looking over at Madison she says, "'The Rooms' are on the opposite side, top floor. You can take the long way or cut through the marketplace."

"No time, and one of the girls in down there anyways. Are we in agreement?" She plans out, to which she gets a nod in return. 

All in agreement, Madison gets accompanied by two well built asian men who rush out towards an exit as fast as they can. Bursting through the door, Blood spills all over the area as the ground level Proctors facing the threat head on, fire into the crowd at infected, some bullets missing or punching through the rotting flesh and into other people running away in a free for all. Looking at their situation, Madison recalls where she last seen Angelina, running in that direction. Getting over to that spot, crouching behind a podium she sees Angelina crying in the fetal position shaken, as blood gets spilled all around her. 

Waltzing behind the girl is the undead Lenora who's snarling and coming straight towards to defenseless innocent. Madison calls out to her, "Angelina!" hurdling towards her as hard as she can, dodging gnashing teeth from all around, smacking one infected away with her hammer, before she reaches the girl and kicks the assailing biter on it's back. The once human creature drunkardly lumbers up. Looking all around her, Madison sees infected tearing chunks out of people everywhere, as a couple Proctors try and fail to contain, spraying wildly into the crowds of undead. With each body that drops, the procreation of the dead rises in numbers. 

Noticing an odd smell, Madison sees a broken stand being lit on fire. The corpse of Lenora gets back on her feet and continues the pursuit. Having enough, the hammer plunges into the mindless shell's skull, bludgeoning it with enough force to knock the once human down for good. 

Madison kneels down and tries to talk to the traumatized and scatterbrained child saying, "Honey it's okay. Remember me? I'm going get you to safety and find your sister."

Holding very little words the girl looks up with big swelling eyes, quietly and tearfully responding a single, "Papa...?" which visibly shakes Madison to her core unable to produce words to the little girl.

Looking around to the disarray becoming more mad by the second, she looks to one of the asian men and proclaims, "One of you need to take her back now to the others, while one of you follows me. Her sister should be in 'The Rooms'." Nodding to her request, she looks back at the little girl getting her attention by grabbing her shoulder and pointing to one of Maria's men, "Sweetheart, you need to go with him now. I'm going to find your sister, but I can't do that worrying about you. Okay?"

The little girl nods and jumps towards the man, who ushers the girl out of the fray. Looking at the remaining chinaman, they push through the rampage making their way towards the other doors. Ten feet before reaching the exit, bullets spray at them, missing and hitting the wall around, causing the two to dodge behind booths on opposite ends to one another. An infected swerves around the corner towards Madison, and she quickly deals with it before turning her attention towards the attacker. Peeking into the direction of the shots, she sees The Proctor, Zig, from before firing at them. 

Zig maddeningly yells out, popping a couple more shots towards her head peeking out, "I knew there was something odd about you! You killed my friends bitch!"

Peeking around a different corner, pulling out her pistol, she catches sight of a living dead armored Proctor coming right behind Zig, and trying to distract him she taunts, "Oh yeah? How's this working out for you? You guys brought this on yourselves when you kidnapped my daughter and an innocent man's family. I enjoyed killing your friends, they got what was coming to them."

"I'll kill you!" Pressing towards her, he starts firing onto the booth several times, and the armored undead comes up behind him. Startling the enemy while he tries to fend the former ally off, he grapples it's throat and Madison pops from behind the corner, firing a round which clips his leg.

Dropping like a sack of bricks, the man plummets, grappling his calf. Before he even realizes it, the dead Proctor's mask peels off enough to sink it's teeth in Zig's shoulder, tearing a chunk of skin that stretches like rubber as it's being pulled away and starts gnawing on the man violently. Noticing their opening, Madison and Maria's man run towards the door out of the disarray.

Slamming the swinging doors open they run through the stable area, trying to find the stairs up to the stands. Commenting on the matter, Madison questions, "So what are 'The Rooms', do you know?"

Keeping pace as they sprint through the hallways, he answers back to Madison's disgust, "They sell captured women there. The Bazar deals in any trade beneficial to them and their associates."

Worried by his comments, she nervously frets, "We need to hurry."

Overhearing the radio being played in the background remarking the marketplace being destroyed and finalizing with a clear "And get the girl to John now", the two girls sitting in the medical room stare at one another agonizingly.

Pounding on the door, Darren yells out, noticably fiddling with the keys to open, "Alright! Time to leave!"

Latching onto her arm tight and handing her an empty metal tray, Diana resonates with Alicia searing into her, "Listen now, these people will do awful things to you if you stay, I know..Don't worry about me and get out of here."

"I can't leave you like this, I won't."

"Lose those feelings and hear me idiot, it's over for me but you CAN live." Diana proclaims, shutting her down, she continues to push the at her. "Take it now."

The handle turns, grabbing ahold of the long metal tray, Alicia hides in the corner behind Diana's table, covered barely by the single leg holding it up. Walking into the lit room, scanning but seeing nothing but the injured Diana who's pretending to be asleep. Dubious and unflinching he walks in gun drawed, coming right up to the girl calling the scam out, "I know what's going on, stop playing dumb!"

Alicia spurts out from behind the table, and smacks him in the back of his leg. Dropping Darren to his knee, he spins around towards Alicia with his gun aimed and Diana pounces on him sending her off the table. Despite the pain of the fall, Diana continues to struggle against him to fend the gun away yelling to Alicia "Run! Go now!", Darren breaks loose and fires a shot into Diana's head ***Blam!*** killing her instantly, to Alicia's horror. Bolting out of the room, Alicia makes a break for the exit out towards the stadium, as Darren's footsteps echo shortly behind hers.

Noticing a lack of oppressive forces within each room and an overall emptiness aside from one room which laid a knocked out drugged up naked woman inside one wrapped in blankets with needles and heroin laying all around. Madison and her acquaintance continue on their mission reaching the gated off hallway featuring what seems to be, 'The Rooms' (Strand of which almost unlocked in Season 3x14 in an attempt to gather Proctor attention). Snapping the lock off after a few cracks with the hammer, pulling the lock off, Madison kicks the door open and they run into the area. 

Opening up the first room, they encounter a mid twenties mexican woman strapped to the bed pale and seemingly dead. Saddened by the sight, Madison briefly looks down and hearing a guttural sound which snaps her head back up, coming back to the sight of the woman returning to 'life', violently swinging her one free arm while the other's chained and snarling at her aggressively. She makes no comment shutting the door.

Opening up the next door just across from that one, they come to a sight of horror as they happen to find poor Ramón's daughter Isabelle laying on the bed accompanied. Her eyes bugged out, completely drugged into oblivion, with an shirtless man undoing his belt with one hand laying on top of her kissing her neck and beginning to undress her with the other. Drawing her handgun, the man notices Madison gasping "What the hell!", as he swivels around pulling out his own. 

Grunting angrily she fires her gun once ***Blam!***. The bullet tears inside his hand and blows it apart like pried string cheese, knocking the gun right out of his hand. The man screams bloody murder, clenching his mutilated hand and with another shot, Madison fires another round that pierces his cheek dropping the guy dead. 

Madison quickly rushes to Isabelle and picks the lock to her handcuffs that are chained to the bed frame. In her drugged haze, Isabelle mutters out to her, "Madison..? I knew...I was right about..." Despite cutting off, Madison understood, staring down onto the floor in shame. Isabelle continues to add insult to injury by perpetuating, "Papa..." over and over before passing out in drug fueled exhaustion.

"Alive?" Her ally asks.

Nodding dejectedly, "Yeah...Yeah, just sleeping it off. Could you grab her?"

Running out the rooms, an alarmed Madison notices a looming figure in the background who lifts his arms up, firing off a couple shots at her ***Blam! Blam!***. Pushing her ally back in the room, she draws her Beretta like a gunslinger and fires a couple in retaliation. The bullets pierce the man's torso and he falls over still alive clutching his wounds. 

Madison walks over and stomps on his chest, causing the guy to agonizingly scream, "Who the hell are you!?"

"Your reckoning." Aiming the pistol at his head and firing a round, ***Blam!*** , splattering his brain matter all over the grimy floor. "Should've left us alone." Her asian follower anxiously steps out of the room and the two leave with the gorked young teen.

Coming down the long stretch of hallway leading towards the back of the stadium, down quite a ways from Madison's group, the backdoor that leads to Proctor John's buildings bursts open with a familiar face coming into the fray. Madison's eyes begin to swell with buoyant emotions hollering out excited, "Alicia!" 

This causes the heavily breathing late teen to stop in her tracks redirecting with a surprised teary eyed, "Mom?"

Just as they are enjoying their tearfully oblivious reunion, a pair of arms suddenly appear behind her and grapple the young girl, dragging her back out the door she came into. Alicia reverberates frightfully, "Mom!" before disappearing behind the door.

Looking at her assistant, Madison trepidatiously proposes, "Get Isabelle back with the others, I'll meet you all out in the front parking lot shortly."

Cautious, he stops her and states, "You know what will happen if you don't show right?"

Madison nods remarking, "Just do as I ask, I'll be back. Please go!" 

The two break apart in different directions. Madison charges to the exit and slams the backdoor open, revealing a orangish hue peeking through the clouds. Scanning the background of the complex, her attention gets caught by Alicia screaming frantically over and over, saying "Let go of me!" and "Mom!".   
Seeing her daughter being taken towards the side of the building towards a group of Proctors loading Praga V3S military transport trucks (now spray painted with Proctor logos).

Proctor John standing against a metal beam stamped into the ground for support, directing his members on where to put items into trucks when Darren interrupts carrying Alicia over his shoulder. Darren drops Alicia hard onto the ground, watching as she slowly gets on her knees, angrily stating grabbing his calf, "Little shit tried to make a run for it, had to kill the other girl.". 

Looking down upon her in displeasure, then looking back up, John notices in the distance Madison coming around the corner running towards them and pulls out his Luger. Pushing Darren out the way, he fires off a couple warning shots towards her ***Blam! Blam!*** , which Madison then dive bombs behind a couple wooden crates for cover. 

Signalling for his men to move, John yells out, "Gather what you can grab, we're leaving now!" Noticing all around as the Proctors scatter into their vehicles, a couple stay behind to escort John and Darren once again nabs Alicia forcibly. Keeping his head peeled towards Madison's direction, John addresses her with sinister intent, also acknowledging to a squirming Alicia passing by on Darren's shoulder, "Quite the destructive family you got girl.. You hearing me out there Mother? I'll admit, I underestimated your family, but make no mistake, it won't happen again!"

"It doesn't have to be this way John, we don't have to fight. Just give me back my daughter now!" Madison attempts to reason.

"All I live for these days is the fight, Madison Clark." John states and then waddles in his penny loafers over to the truck, to which two Proctors lift him inside and then run to the front of the vehicle.

Hearing the engines starting up,Madison pokes her head from behind the crates and begins running towards the vehicles, frantically yelling "Alicia!" and begins charging at them. Darren pulls out a gun, about to fire, but then John presses the barrel down and looks to Alicia who's laying on the truck bed.

The large truck begins to roll forward as the gas pedal revs. Grabbing ahold of her shirt by her shoulder, John pulls her up to the opening in the back, coldly stating to her, "Took a good long darling. For this may be the last time you ever see her again."

Extending her arms towards her mother, with Madison desperately trying to reach hers back, Alicia once more cries for her mother. Chasing after the vehicle hard she starts to trip on her own feet, sending her plummeting straight to the ground. In agonizing tears watching the trucks drive away, her face abruptly gets serious and vilified, grabbing her radio off her belt stating to Crazy Dog, "Lee? Are you guys there? There's a group of military trucks leaving the Bazar, try to see if you can get a shot on at least one of the trucks. It's important."

Crazy Dog, staring through his scope notices the various trucks headlights peering through the dimly lit early morning. Unable to see clearing a window, and the moment of opportunity slowly leaving as they get further away, states back to Madison, "It's good to hear from you, I was beginning to worry there. But yeah, I got an idea, it'll just slow them down though."

_"Whatever works."_

Sliding the sights down away from the driver window, he hovers underneath the driver side door, finger pressing slowly against the trigger. Gathering his shot, he squeezes and ***BLAM!*** the powerful rifle echoes into the night, ripping through the air. Piercing the side of the truck as it continues to trudge into the night. Drive further away, liquid begins to noticeably pour on the pavement. 

Satisfied, the sniper turns back to see a mildly intoxicated Victor Strand who breaks the tension smoothly remarking to the gunman while sipping off the bottle, "I think I'm going to put this... as one of my top 3 most exciting nights. At least next to that one night in '99."

Having a hard time taking him serious, he just smirks, shaking his head trying to ignore the man and looks towards the front parking lot of the burning Bazar.

After a few minutes, Madison circles back to the front parking lot where upon walking into the sea of cars, notices the gate but nobody around aside from a few dead bodies. Guns suddenly click, and Madison looks around to see a multitude of rifles, handguns and automatic weapons trained on her, surrounding her. Coming out of the vehicle in front of her steps Maria Lu signaling one of her men to pull out a gagged and tied struggling Taqa. Crazy Dog watches this unfold through his sniper lens, gliding over Maria's head.

"I'm honestly speechless. You're either stupid, lucky or the most dangerous woman I've ever met." Clapping her hands in glee, looking behind Madison towards the bloom of smoke coming out of the complex. Speaking negotiations, she continues, "I've kept my end of the deal, now I believe it's time to pay yours."

Looking around herself, she explains, "It's a few day drive, I'll show you on a map. My daughter's been taken though and I have to go after her now."

"I'm afraid that's not good enough." Straight faced, despite the hands all around squeezing their weapons in anxiousness like the sound of rubber being stretched permeating the atmosphere, Maria Lu returns walking up to Taqa and begins sensually stroking his face,"I'm sorry for your predicament, but we made a deal. Now if that's what you prefer, we'll take the girls and your friend as collateral until your return then. I happen to like your friend, I'm sure I could find some uh... 'work' for him to do in the meantime." 

Disgusted by her comments, Madison reluctantly protests, "Please, leave the girls alone. They're innocent, their father died earlier and they've been through too much to continue on like this. If that's how it'll be then, fine. I'll go with as a hostage. I'll show you where it is personally and where to look, but only if you agree to bring those two to safety."

Scoffing at her attempts to plead, Maria brushes her off stating, "My dear, that was going to happen anyways. Are you sure you are even in a position to renegotiate? We only helped you get rid of our competition in this region, not because we care about your cause silly girl."

"If that's how you want it." Pulling the radio off her belt, she clicks the button and says to the recieving end, "Give out a warning shot."

 ***Blam!*** The rifle round echoes into the night, piercing the hood of an empty vehicle near them, startling everyone but Madison.

Growling at the woman, redirecting the chain of power, Madison snarls at her, "I could've ended this at any time, I chose this spot remember? Now I'm trying to work on my diplomacy here. So do we have a deal or not?"

"Cōngmíng nǚhái ér. I suppose." Taken back by the twist, Looking into the backgrounds of the darkened building roofs layered all over trying to scope it out, she then turns to Madison, noting, "The girls will be brought to a group of freedom fighters situated in abandoned narco tunnels out east. Radio your sniper to let them know not to shoot us too."

"Hold tight. Don't do anything until I return. Trust me, we'll be back soon." Madison radios to Crazy Dog, and then two men come to pull her arms behind her back and they slap a couple cuffs on her, forcing Madison to sigh, "Is this necessary?"

Smiling and leading the middle aged woman to the back of a van, she states admirably skeptical, "Wouldn't want to be too careful, we've seen what you are capable of. Now let's go find this fabled Shangri La of yours, shall we?"

Looking off into the distance as her and Taqa get shoved in the back of a van. The vehicle starts right up and the group of traders drive off with them into the dawn. Crazy Dog and Strand, unsure of what to come, watch in worry as the van pulls out of the parking lot and slowly out of view. Angered, Taqa sits in the back trying hard not to look at Madison full of betrayed anger. Irritated by his middle school antics, she kicks him in the shin and sneakily shows him a bobby pin pulled from her pocket. A subtle smile grows on Walker's face with renewed trust. Determined, Madison turns her attention back to the front, glaring menacingly over at the unaware traders. With a half cocked smile, she presses her head against the metal frame of the van until the smile fades into something of mortification, juxtaposed by a frightful Alicia pressing her head against the tarp in the back Proctor John's truck surrounded by the ruthless armed bikers all eyeing her down. Both parties sailing into golden background of the sun rise. 

_**Writer: BetterAngels195** _


	4. Death and The Maiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the road to Mexicali, Daniel and Nick are met with a stranger. Meanwhile slowed by Madison's attack on El Bazar, The Proctors and Alicia stop on the highway to assess their situation.

**DISCLAIMER: This is a non canon fan written story. All characters from the TV show are owned by AMC and Robert Kirkman, not me. I'm just a dude. All original creations are mine though.**

Dusk starts to reign despite the orange light peering into a confined sheltered space with snarling guttural belches echoing throughout an abandoned two story house stationed just off the Tijuana-Tecate highway. Walking over groups of rotted bodies piled over one another on the top floor are five undead surrounding a tall, grisly bearded, long scraggly dirty blonde haired man wearing a large grey desert poncho with dark blue jeans and black boots. Breathing deeply and calmly, the man focuses on the creatures incoming. All five attack at once, the man side swipes the nearest grabbing the back of it's pants and thrusting it through the window behind him, shattering the glass as it plunges on broken glass laying halfway outside and in. The infected tries to get up from the window, but the top piece of the window breaks off, falling on it's stomach, cleaving it in two, stretching it's intestines and upper half to the ground below. 

Grappling the next by the throat, he kicks another away, which falls hard on its back and with a free hand thrusts a machete through another's temple. Still holding the snarling undead's gooey gored neck, the hatchet rips out of the skull as the body plummets and seeing a remaining infected still coming at him, remarking a frustrated "Goddammit!", he whips the limp body against the remaining antagonistic infected sending both to the ground. Whipping the machete around, the man sees the once human creature he kicked over trying frivolously to get up and without hesitation walks over plunges it into it's head. Walking over to the remaining two, he stomps on the one's throat, slamming the blade in the one and twists his foot so hard the other monster's neck snaps underneath his foot. 

Sighing some relief, the gruff man remarks to himself, "Smells like shit, but it's something."

  
Afer searching late into the nighttime, he growls along with a stinging stomach ache. Looking towards the outside, his eyes loom towards the rocky landscape in desperation. Stern and determined, he packs his things and sets out into the nighttime breeze, going out the door and fumbling up the hill through the dimly lit moonshine. Seeing the remaining half of the infected laying on the ground, he plummets his Hatchet in it's skull, and then continues onward. Reaching the top, walking out into the field of rocks and grass with a couple small trees sprouting all through the plain, he ventures out under the starry sky.

Drifting his eyes from the dark plain in front of him, hearing the howls of the infected, he looks over to see a group of wasted behaving oddly. Hiding behind a rock, he peers around, noticing a figure up on top of a large boulder with his arms spread wide in a messiahianic pose silhouetted by the shadows of the night surrounded by snarling dead that are strangely circling the rock in an bizarre ritualistic manner. Bewildered, cautious, yet amazed, the man stands in awe watching the creatures behave erratically. 

Watching closely, the shadowed figure abruptly slithers from the rock, silently drifting away into the edge of the brush, leaving the monsters to remain in their rotation endlessly. The figure noticeably watches as the creatures continue to remain in their pattern without stopping, until a loud ***Blam!*** echoing from far in the distance breaks their concentration sending them all towards the direction of the sound. The man, noticing the strange figure still lingering in the shadows behind watching this unfold turns to the darkness, and the now curious man follows the stranger far into the plains until reaching an empty half finished brick building holding just the walls, an upstairs and vacant doors, with a firepit still smoldering out in the middle.

As the figure looks around strangely complacent, he plops down on a stool next to the smolders and throws some dry twigs on the pit. Bursting into flames immediately, the shimmering light reveals the stranger to be none other than Nick Clark staring intently into the fire. As he watches Nick pull out a can of beans and start cracking it open, watching intently clenching his stomach in painful agony feeling the rumbling, and with scowling violent eyes, pulls out his .38 snubnose revolver and approaches Nick with the weapon drawn aiming right at his head.

**Fear The Walking Dead**

_ **The Forgotten Fear** _

**A fan written continuation based on the series created by Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman**

Cracking open the can, plunging his fingers in for a mouthful, he stops when he suddenly hears a _*click*_. A surprised Nick look over to his side to see a large brutish grizzled angry man aiming a loaded weapon at him. Swallowing his food in a large gulp, catching his words, Nick bellows sarcastically, "You know, people used to say hello."

Snapping his wrist with the gun, the tepid man demands shakily in exhaustion, "All your food, your water...and your weapons; I want, now. Give me your supplies and nothing here has to happen."

Deriding the threat, eyeing down his opposition, Nick oddly questions sending the man off guard, "I thought I noticed someone watching me in the field. Was that you? Who are you?"

"Just give me what you got goddammit! Enough stalling!" The desperate man yells aggressively, inching the barrel closer to Nick's face.

Pushing his limit, Allan halts when he hears a _*click*_ behind himself, with Daniel standing right behind him. Smiling smugly, as he turns his eyes in the direction of the sound while keeping the gun steadily trained against Nick. Reposing the predicament, Nick ponders, "Great timing. Where were you hiding Daniel?"

Daniel pointing his weapon at the antagonizing man, he replies, "I woke up, didn't know where you went, and was out looking for you." Looking back at the antagonizer, Daniel presses the gun against his back and asks more severely, "Now he already asked asked nicely; who are you and where is your group?" 

Noticing his situation, he snarls the one side of his upper lip and states angrily, "I'm with nobody. My name is Allan."

"Allan huh?" Nick ponders a few seconds looking at a bitter Daniel who's steadily holding his gun. Trying to destress the situation he prompts "Look, we'll make a deal here Allan; you put your gun down and we'll split our supplies with you." 

Professing aggressively, Daniel argues, "Que demonios! We can't Nick, are you seriously?"

Holding his hand out towards the veteran to quiet him, watching as Allan darts his eyes around in indecision, peering his situation down, Nick tries once more to barter to the desperate stranger, "Look, there's no way out of this man. You either take the food and live, or die trying to fight us over some scraps. That guy behind you is a trained soldier. Do you really want to die here over a can of beans and a bottle of water?"

Still holding his gun against Allan firmly, who's insurmountable resolution forces him to keep his weapon trained. Both noticing the refusal to change, Nick looks at his ally demanding, "Drop it Daniel."  
Cautiously hesitant, Daniel slowly lowers his weapon and as he feels the gun release it's pressure behind him, the discontented Allan squints, flipping his eyes around. Snuffing out a heavy heave, the irascible gruff man seizes and also steadily drops his weapon.

Not surprised by his reaction, Nick pulls out a can of pears and beans smiling friendly towards the man. Daniel walks away from behind and over towards Nick who leans in towards Allan with the can. Swiftly snatching the tin out of his hands, Allan pulls away from the duo slightly into the shadows, but enough to feel the warmth of the fire and begins digging into the beans almost savagely. 

Surveilling the loner, unsure of their predicament, Daniel whispers, "Are you sure about this?" 

"He's struggling the same as us." Answering back, Nick confidently responds. "I can see it in his eyes, he's not a threat unless we made him one. Let's just give him space."

Unsure, but giving in, Daniel then mutters out exasperatedly, "Fine, but he's your problem then. Now I'm going back to sleep. Stay awake and keep an eye on him, we'll speak of this in the morning. Any problems, it's on your ass." Before leaving him to go up to the edge of the ruins on a sleeping bag, Nick just stares intently on the newcomer in bewilderment. **  
**

With the bright moonlight illuminating the area around them, Allan remains in the same spot now laying on the edge of the fire's shine with his back turned to Nick who's still sitting up at the fire alone. Getting up from his spot, Nick walks slowly towards the man and stops a few feet away, blurting out, "I know you're awake, you can stop pretending."

Still with his back turned, Allan then grunts, "Go away. What do you want?"

"I'm curious what your endgame is." Outright admitting, Nick interrogates, "You going to rob us as we sleep? Try to kill us? Kidnap us? What is it?"

"I just wanted food and water." Annoyed by the accusations, growling at Nick.

"That's it?"

Sitting up and getting up onto his feet, with Nick taking a couple steps back wearily in anticipation, walking more into the light Allan illuminates himself, professing close to his face sternly, "That's it." 

Briefly in a staring match, Allan then turns away from him going back to his corner. Disconcerted by his reaction, Nick further questions, "So who are you anyways?"

Muttering to him pointing his eyes down, "Nobody. A drifter." With his lip twitching in hesitation, eventually giving out with his own follow up, "I saw you manuveuring the dead earlier. What was that?"

"Heh. So you were watching me.." A quick slight smirk extends from his lips as he divulges further,

"Infected move in a single direction until a distraction breaks their path. If you get them moving in a circle, and sneak away before they can notice, then they'll remain in motion endlessly."

Intrigued by his knowledge, but slyly keeping his distance, he responds curiously looking over to him, "Where did you learn that?"

"A late friend. He had a journal documenting their behaviors, theories.. among other things." Greviously he says, but then chuckles, "Gotta say that journal would've come in handy right about now." 

"Strange company seems to be your thing." He dubiously bellows.

Smiling at his comment, Nick then asks, "So what's your plan after this?" 

"Can't say?" Looking into the distance pondering the question, then back at Nick declaring, "Wander till I find a reason I guess."

"You're welcome to stay with us if you'd like, we're heading over to Mexicali in hopes to reach an old...friend, to ask for help." Promisingly he proclaims, yet Allan does not respond, so he ends by turning back towards the fire, finalizing by stating, "It's your choice man."

Daybreak comes peering over the hill side, opening his eyes and wiping the sand away; a yawning Nick stretching his arms wide, hazily scans the bare area only to find Daniel poking the coals of the dead fire.

Looking away from him stirring the ashes around, a guileful Daniel mutters out, "You fell asleep, with a stranger in our camp. Surprisingly he didn't take anything." Futher noting with a snarl, "I'd ask you how you are feeling, but I'm sure it's the same way I'm feeling."

Annoyed by the accusation, "What that supposed to mean."

"I'm not your mother Nick and I'm not stupid. Look, I don't care what you do so long as you don't bring it back with you." Browbeating with his cunning tongue raising his eyebrows. "But steal from me again, and I'll take your hands. Comprende?" 

Looking away from him, breathing through his nose heavily, Nick just sits in silence. 

The big military trucks carrying Proctors from the Bazar drive through the mexican highways, passing by a small sign with big bold letters saying ' _ **TECATE** cuota, Por Paso del Aquila_'. After going a few miles passed that, noticing one of the vehicles in front start flashing their breaklights, John's truck begins to slow down. Sitting in the back of the truck with Darren, Proctor John and a few other unknown Proctors, is Alicia who's hiding in the corner. Feeling the vehicles slowing down to a halt, John angrily yells out, "What the hell is going on? Why aren't we moving?"

Hearing the boots hitting the pavement, the back draping flap opens up with a Proctor conveying to the vexed cripple, "We have a situation John, you are going to want to see this."

Helping him out of the back, along with the rest of them in the truck coming out, his Proctors usher him to the side of the truck where the fuel is stored. Holding her at gunpoint, Darren's gun remains trained on Alicia the whole way out. John surveys the giant barrel tucked into the side by the steps of the passenger door, noticing twisted metal surrounding a gaping bullet hole in the gas tank. 

A big smile grows on John's face and he starts chuckling menacingly, turning towards Alicia and waddles in his loafers over towards her, "Like opening Pandora's box, your mother is full of surprises."

Raising her eyebrows in a snobby manner stating a quick, "I warned you."

"As amusing as your antics may be, I'd recommend keeping quiet." Snapping back at her. "Now go find Eddie, bring me my medications and grab my chair. Now."

Walking passed John pressing his weight against the vehicle holding his hand against his back, Alicia drifts into the group of Proctors seeing Eddie talking to one of them. Walking over towards him, she's stopped in her tracks briefly as Sloane walks in front of her eyeing her down. Once he goes away, she walks up to Eddie reiterating John's statement, "Hey, Eddie. John's requested we get his chair and meds." 

Sighing at the request, he laughs and jokes, "I think I need a vacation." Waving his hand towards her as a signal, he follows up with, "Alright, follow me." 

Going along side him, walking far enough away from the other Proctors towards the front of one of the trucks, whispering to her quickly, he gestures, "Hit me and run."

"What?" Eyebrows raised, surprised by his odd statement, she questions back.

He admits, "I've done plenty of wrong, I just want to do something right for once and lessen the burdens of my conscience. Please do it quickly, now, and go. There's no time to question it."

Confused yet content, walking next to him as they get towards the front of the vehicle, she anxiously responds "If they suspect you, they'll hurt you."

"And if you stay, you'll die for sure." Asserting to Alicia. "This isn't a matter of debate, make a decision."

Hesitating briefly, she gently nods towards him raising her fist and with a swift hit, she strikes him across the face. Acting like it was harder than it was, he drops to the ground, and Alicia quietly mumbles to him, "Thank you." And then turns south, booking it over the railings down into the shrubbery plain. 

The Proctors in the back witnessing it happen, screaming, "What the hell!?"

Proctor John turns to their direction, witnessing Alicia dropping over the railings and hurriedly yells out to his men, "I need half of you, after her, now! Alive!"

"Forget her! She's brought us nothing but trouble John!" Darren protests angrily.

"I didn't say 'question me'. Go get her, now!" Snapping his jaws at the disgruntled man, with Sloane slipping away in the background smiling as he takes off first after her and John further orders. "Don't just stand there gawking goddammit!"

Darren, snarling at him, reluctantly nods and a couple of the Proctors rally together, with the group hurdling over the railings after her.

Huffing and heaving, panting as hard as she can, bursting through the plains at speeds she never knew she had. Rushing hard, she sees a large plastic industrial factory in the distance and streams towards it. Reaching the door and grappling the handle, taking a second to catch her breath, she sees a figure in the distance coming towards her. Panic kicking the door a few times before it gives way, snapping the lock off and opening up to the inside. Pushing the door open she hurries in. 

With the light of the outside coming from the doorway, it reveals a plethora of living dead roaming in her way. With the Proctors not too far behind, she scans the area for an exit, but only sees a large open door as the only means. The creatures begin to swarm her, with no choice, she notices a staircase to an upper level that encircles around to the other end of the building. Booking it on the concrete floor towards the stairs, infected flood all around stumbling past the pressing machines after her. Dodging a few in her way, swaying side to side zigzagging around them, she reaches the staircase. Slightly out of arm's reach, the creatures barrel towards her as she hurries up the grated steps. Right as she reaches the top, a body slams into her and she gets taken off her feet slamming hard onto the metal grates. 

Looking behind her to see the assailant who's grasping his hands around her wrists to stray her away from her knife, laying on top of her with a big sinister smile, Sloane scoffs, "Caught you pretty girl."

"Let go of me!" Alicia bellows out trying to flail wildly, before managing to get a knee into his gut, splitting him away from him, causing him to lose his grip. 

Breaking away, Alicia tries to run away, making it halfway on the walkway before Sloane once more catches up. Alicia desperately tries to grab her butterfly knife, but Sloane decks her in the face knocking her to the ground. Dazed from the hit, she tries to crawl away. Looking up she notices on her left an empty space on the safety rails only being held together with a few metal chain links. Looking back at her attacker who's slowly walking towards her, she daringly tries to make her way to the open space.

"Where do you think you're going?" He mocks standing ominously, as she looks down seeing a multitude of gored hands reaching upwards at the both of them. "John wants me to take you back, but...we both know that's not going to happen. Instead, how about we have some fun... If you don't fight back, maybe I'll let you live after."

Noticing a wrench in the dimly lit room just in reach almost hanging off the side, she grabs it and whips it back at him yelling, "Get away!"

Smacking his shoulder, Sloane briefly screams out in distress as Alicia gets back up on her feet. Ignoring the pain he attacks her, wrestling and pressing her against the railings threatening as he begins to unbuckle his belt, "You did it now! Now I'll take my time and make you suffer!"

Noticing the opening with the small chains in front of them, Alicia knees him in the groin, and he falters enough to loosen his grip. Using her feet to press against the railings, she torpedos into him and with their combined weight, she tackles him through the chainlinks snapping them right off, sending them both onto the ground below with a hard _*thud*_. Falling right on top of him, Alicia lands on Sloane's right leg, snapping the femur right through his pantleg.

Howling in agony, Sloane grapples his calf crying out, "My leg! My leg! You stupid bitch! My leg!" Dazed from the fall, Alicia looks up to see infected swarming at Sloane just as they begin to lunge on top of him following his frantic pleas, "No! Please! No!..."

Many of the infected fall on top of him and begin gnawing into his flesh. Within seconds his agonizing screams turn into blood curdling gurgles. As the monsters swarm him, a couple laggers turn their direction towards Alicia, who's eyes widen in fraught muttering to herself "Oh shit" and begins trying hard to crawl away. Too weak from the fall to get away, she holds her hands out to try to stop it, but is suddenly gripped with a cloth around her mouth from behind. Trying to wiggle loose, she fails starting to lose her vision. Alicia's eyes roll to the back of her head and she goes limp, noticing briefly before fully going down a machete cracking the undead's face in two.

Flashes of hanging over the side of someone's shoulder, Alicia awakens a few hours later in an open dark damp cave only lit up by the orange hue of a makeshift firepit laying in the middle of it. Rubbing her eyes, she looks around to see a hairy man in a dark poncho with his back turned to her carving into something. Her heart starts to pump in fright, noticing a rounded rock next to her, she grabs it and slowly gets up tiptoeing over to him. Lifting her arm up inconspicuously, she smacks the rock against the back of the stranger's head giving out a hard _*thud*_ , falling forward with the hit and excruciatingly grunting. 

Despite her attack, before she can make a move, a leg sweeps underneath her knocking her to the ground. Walking in the light now, the man reveals himself to be the newcoming stranger Allan, who waves his finger at her yelling, "Don't hit me!" Who then walks away grasping the back of his head muttering angrily to himself and kicking a rock against the wall, "Goddammit! What the fuh..Ugh Shit!" 

Taken back by his reaction, watching him pace the room holding onto his head, Alicia slowly sits up and yields her escape attempt. Walking towards where he was sitting, Allan grabs a piece of cooked rattlesnake, slams it on paper plate aggressively throwing it towards her, irritably groaning, "Eat it." Before grabbing his own plate and walking into the shadows on the other side of the cave. Hesitantly, she looks at the shadowed man and then at the meat shamefully. Tearing off a piece, she tosses it into her mouth and begins chewing. 

Swallowing the chunk of snake meat, she regretfully looks over at Allan and lowly professes, "So...You're not with The Proctors I take it?"

Sitting sideways, his eyes swivel towards her direction and he questions back with a swift pained, "Who?!"

"The Proctors?" Her head bobs up, shocked by his answer, "A gang of bikers who own territories throughout the border region?"

Allan shakes his head side to side, looking over to her recounting, "My name is Allan. I've only been in this area for a little while. The fence was down in the border, someone must've rammed it with a large truck, the hole was huge. I came down hoping things would be better down here." Feeling the back of his head, he adds in by throwing a little salt, "Doesn't feel like it."

"I'm Alicia. I'm sorry about that..." Remorseful and sorrowfully stating with a sheepish halfcocked smirk, "I thought you were one of the bad guys."

"And who says I'm not?" Allan quickly admits with a stern aggressive tone.

"Last time I checked, bad guys don't save damsels in distress." Alicia tilting her head, smiles softly professing, "So, thank you for saving me."

Without a word, Allan turns his head away from her, lowering his face and silently continues eating. Alicia sits back, cautiously, tears off another piece while continuing to eye him down, analyzing his behavior.

Driving down the rocky stretch off the Mexicali-Tijuana Highway 2D, Daniel mutters out to a silent brooding Nick leaning against the window, "You just going to keep quiet the whole trip, or are we going to talk about last night?"

"What's there to say?" Nick snides.

"I know you've been using, even before the dam. You took some of the pills from the abandon house. Your eyes are dilated and your sweating heavy, it's rather obvious." Keeping his eyes on the road, he further states, "How many more do you have stashed in your pockets?"

Hesitant to answer, a vexed Nick answers back, "Only a couple. You going to threaten me some more to get them back?"

"No. Just wanted to hear some honesty for once coming out of you." He mutters outright with a slight tinge of irritation in his voice, "I think I'm starting to get it."

"Get what?"

Swerving around a lone infected in the road, Daniel responds, "Your need to protect these... _mierdas_."

Snapping back at him vengefully, the junkie growls, "Say that again?"

"You like them because you are like them. You feel that if you saved them, maybe you'll feel redeemed and be able save yourself." Scoffing at his hostility Daniel cements, "It's futile Nick. We are who we are, and there's no changing that."

Testy by his comments, he reverberates, "Did your wife and daughter feel that way?" Which sets Daniel fretting silently for a couple seconds as Nick proclaims, "I think we've been given a chance in this new world to change."

"And do you feel changed?" A vituperative Daniel proposes, "They're dead, Nick, like everything else. From where I'm sitting, it seems we've just been sifting through the same cycle of purgatory that we have been from the start."

Sighing heavily, he remarks exhaustively, "Are we going to go through this again?"

Looking forward, eyes scanning the road intensely, Daniel answers back, "My wife, my dear Griselda...She knew what I was, and she knew the consequences, yet she loved me anyways. This isn't the life I wanted for us. I thought coming to the states, having a clean slate, things would be different. It's not." Shedding a single tear down his cheek, he sniffles and wipes it away adding, "I just want you to know, that I get it."

Noticing him distraught, curiously Nick questions, "Why are you doing this? You don't owe us anything."

"Your mother kept her promise to me, did everything she could for me when she didn't need to, and even when it was against her own safety. It's only fair I do the same in return." Remarking sincerely, responding to him passing by sign regarding an 'Inspection Station', Daniel points, "We should be in Mexicali soon, only a few more miles up the road."

Throwing her paper plate into the fire, bursting into flames fumagating with carbonation, the gracious teenager notices him feeling his head and calls out to the quiet large man, "Would you like me to check that out? I got you pretty good."

To which Allan raspy responds back, "I'm fine...Just leave me alone."

Getting up, Alicia slowly walks towards him and kneels down next to Allan, who cautiously tilts away from her. Reaching her hand out, she states, "I took a few health classes as one of my electives. A know a little bit about concussions. Let me have a look."

Smacking her hand away, his face curls in frustration and he yells, "I said I'm fine! Get away from me!" Noticing her frightened expression, he dials back and quietly mutters, "I'm sorry, I don't...I don't like to be touched."

Sympathetic, she nods wrapping her arms around her legs sitting upright and says to the disgruntled man, "I get it. Don't have to say anything more."

"Thank you..." His heavy eyes drift to the ground and in a depressive tone asks Alicia, "Can I ask you a question?" Intrigued by his question, she nods and he continues, "Why are these men after you?"

"It's a long story." She answers quickly.

"Since the dead are blocking our exit, I think we got time." Stating calmly. 

"Well, I'll give you the short version. Maybe if we're together long enough, I'll give you the longer version." Ending that with a smile, breathing deeply, she adds, "The Proctors want my family dead after we screwed over their plans to take over the Baja region. Their attempts at taking over the dam was stopped when my brother and mother wired the dam with explosives, and my brother stayed behind to blow it up." 

His head raises in understanding, bouncing his head up and down, before questioning once more "So, where are they now?"

Her eyes grow blank staring into the fire and she sorrowfully admits, "I don't know..." and Allan feels her displacement, and returns to silence.

Entering into the outskirts of the city in the Villa Residencial Casa Magna district, coming upon rows of similar looking dilapidated housing complexes, Daniel and Nick scan around in horror. Graffiti is spray painted across multiple brick fencing across, with patches of grass in the front yards and bodies lay scattered around the area. They stop on the edge, shutting the truck off, and Nick swiftly jumps out of the vehicle. Frantically running around scanning the bodies, he clasps his head with both hands high strung.

"What's the matter?" Bouncing from body to body, he looks increasingly more distraught as Daniel looks upon him confused, calling out to him, "Nick?"

Noticing all the bullet holes in the bodies, Nick runs out in the middle hollering as loud as he can, "Oh no... Luciana! Luciana! Where are you!?"

Hearing his screeching, some of the bodies begin to fidget around and roll up on their feet. Infected all around start to roll towards him, and Daniel screams out once more, "Nick!"

Eyes wide ventilating deeply and disheartedly, Nick unconcerned by the threat barrelling down at them responds to Daniel, pointing at the bodies, "I know these people, she's got to be around here somewhere. That's Enrique. That's Amata." Shedding a tear towards the body of a familiar small child, "And that's, Alonso's daughter Katia..."

"A skirmish with a gang perhaps. It could be anything, she could be long gone by now. You said it's been few weeks since the last time you seen her?" Daniel attempts to console him, watching closely as the dead approach, "We can't stay Nick."

"I have to find her Daniel! She has to be around here somewhere!" He snaps back at him, rushing towards the approaching undead monsters.

Whipping out his knife, Nick stabs each one in the head scanning every body around him to no avail. Noticing many former fallen members of La Colonia, but no Luciana, after clearing out the Roamers around the area, crouching to the ground he gutturally screams into his chest, "Goddammit!"

Daniel wanders out amidst the bodies and over towards him, softly professing trying to comfort, "If she's not around here, she must still be alive. Don't give up hope so easily." 

"She's not here Daniel, I know it. She could be dead, she could be alive, it doesn't matter." Clenching his fists so hard they give out a slight popping sound. Having his back turned to him, Nick gives up and relents, "Let's go. More will be coming."

Both stepping inside the truck, Daniel looks over to a disheartened Nick relating, "I'm sorry about your friends." 

Sighing loudly, Nick comments, "Thanks, even though I know you don't really care."

"You think I'm some heartless cabrón? I know what your feeling more than anyone." He remarks sympathetically, "There's nothing you could've done Nick."

Looking over at the elder, the young man asks, "So, what are we going to do now?"  
Staring into the distance as they drive back down the highway, ambigiously answering, "We retrace our steps, gather our bearings and come up with a new plan. Our combined heads, we can think of something. Let's just focus on the road for now."

Nodding, Nick then turns back towards the window and stares off into the into the distance towards a large open desert field where he spots a lone infected wandering ominously and watches it intently gracefully lingering about.

A fist collides against a battered Eddie's face, along with a knee into the gut as Proctor John sits on the side in his wheelchair observing. Holding up his hand, he halts the attack, regarding to his men, "Enough."

"I'm...I'm sorry John..." Eddie cries out, spitting out blood on the pavement.

"Save it. All those years I kept you fed and protected. I even thought of you as a friend, and this is how you repay me? You are lucky you are still of some use to me." Intimidating the beaten man, John scoffs, "You've only prolonged the inevitable, and delayed us another day we do NOT have. It's only a matter of time before she's back in my grasp."

"She deserved a chance for freedom..." Pleading out to the crippled leader.

John laughs, rolling over next to Eddie, and admits, "You damned fool. Those years spent with us after you cowardly ran from your conviction and you still have yet to see the bigger picture!" Looking over at his men, he commands, "Pathetic. Throw him in the back and keep him monitered."

A couple of the Proctors drag Eddie away and toss him in the back of one of the repurposed military truck beds. 

John questions once more to his remaining troops, "Has anyone heard from Darren?"  
One of the Proctors pipes up, "A couple hours ago, he radioed and said they found Sloane. Or what's left of him... he was being mauled by the ghouls apparently. No sign of the girl though."

A smile drags on his face and he calmly remarks, "Flew too close to the sun..."

"John?"

Chuckling at the matter, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see how our little game of 'cat and mouse' plays out, won't we?"

Aghast by his strange statements, his men keep their distance and leave him sitting in a thousand mile stare leading out into the brush.

Feeling the glow and heat of the fireplace within the small-ish dampened cave system, Alicia sits at ease before looking towards Allan who's now standing at the entrance to the small cave by his lonesome. Staring out of the cave towards infected lingering outside among the opening hindered by a ledge of rocks in the way, he then turns towards her and proposes, "We got an opening, if we are going to leave, it's got to be now."

Alicia looks at him contently, then towards the opening and nods to his request. Looking up at the cave paintings at the tops of the wall her eyes droop noticing a picture of mutiple shadowy men fighting stick figure red men with spears illuminated against the wall, echoing statements made my Walker a long time ago.

Stepping out into the opening, dropping from a small ledge with a bag strapped around his shoulder, Allan turns and courteously helps her down. Turning back a few infected roam scattered about and they both begin running down through a small gap in between. Allan whips out his machete and downs a couple roamers in their way, just as one snags Alicia's arm. Struggling to pull pry it away, holding it by the neck, trying desperately and Allan quickly turns around driving his blade through the creature's hand, kicking it away from her.

"Thanks." She immediately responds grateful. 

Responding with a quick silent nod, he nudges her to move and the two break from the group of monsters out into the desert plain.

Gaining enough distance away in the midday sky, they slow their speed to catch their breath, noticing a small town in the distance. Allan turns towards Alicia asking, "Are you okay? No bites?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for saving my skin, back there and before." Alicia scoffs, "You are my knight in shining armor."

He growls towards the comment, and reverberates once more, "Stop. I'm not a good person. I Just.."

"Just what? You keep saying that, but the more I'm with you, the less I believe that. You could've left me to die, but you didn't." Interrupting him with a soft warm smile that he cracks under, she says towards him as he hides his face from her. "You don't have to hide anymore Allan. The world out here is dead, there's nothing left. There's noone here to judge you."

"You really want to know?" Quiet for a minute, walking along the plain he chirps up, confessing to her obviously in deep rooted emotions, "I'm a killer Alicia."

Noticing his comment, she tries to relate, "These days, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I've killed too, for people I've care about... and I don't even feel bad about it."

"No, you don't get it. This world has created this mentality that it's normal to kill to survive." Shutting her down straight away, he heavily laments, "I didn't because I had to, I did it because I wanted to Alicia and this was before. He deserved to die, but that don't mean what I did was right. I've been on the road since I was 17 because I couldn't face anyone anymore. Everytime they looked at me, it was like I was a monster."

"And he wasn't the only one, was he?" Recognizing his silent displacement, taking in the revelation, she reconciles with a friendly, "I didn't mean to drudge it up, I'm sorry."

"Enough with the 'sorrys', it's sickening." Stopping her in her tracks, he admits sorrowfully, "Now you know." 

"' _Sorry_ ' about that." She mocks with an unconcerned grin, which offsets him and Allan returns with his own small one, which Alicia humors, "You should smile more often. This 'tough guy' act is getting pretty sickening too."

Dropping his guard a bit, he continues his smirk and looks at her reiterating, "If we are together long enough, maybe I will."

Connecting a bit, both sharing a laugh, and she chuckles, "I look forward to it." Both sharing their company walking towards the outskirts of Tecate into a small lower villa with multiple housing complexes. 

Unbeknownst In the distance, a group of feet stand ominously far away, peering on them through a pair of binoculars off a cliffside, with the one holding the device obviously Darren by the tone of his voice, announcing to the rest of the Proctors standing around him, "Got you."

Driving across the roads in the late day, as Nick realizes Daniel feeling his face while grunting in pain, he orders, "We need to find you more antibiotics. Can't have that getting infected. Let's stop along the road at one of these houses."

"I'm surprised to hear that you care." Daniel counters clenching his face with the other hand gripping the steering wheel.

Letting out a quick laugh, Nick retorts back, "Well if you died, who's going to be my bodyguard? You are a good shot and I'm iffy at best." 

He snuffs, forcing a half cocked smile that creeps on the his face, seeing a long dirt road leading into trees obscuring a house in the distance, he turns down the road driving towards the complex.  
Coming down the road a nearly mile off the freeway, they pull up and stop in the front yard of a two story house. Regarding how it's eerily cleaned up, Daniel notes cautiously, "Something doesn't seem right."

Nick adds, surveilling the area confused too, "Maybe someone is still alive?"

They shut the truck off and begin to walk towards the door, with Daniel ready on his gun pressed on his holster. Approaching the house slowly, the door cracks up and both to their surprise, a Rottweil Skeet Olympia 72 slides around the edge, held to the two of them. Daniel draws his pistol in retaliation as the two are met with a loaded barrel aimed right at their face. The door peers open to reveal a scowling slightly overweight middle aged man holding the shotgun. 

"Que quieres y quien eres?" The man mutters in spanish to the duo.

Daniel remains silent eyeing the man down unmoved and Nick pipes up instead with his arms raised, "No, uh.. hablo bien, el español. Engles por favor?"

The man smirks, mocking him in english, "Your spanish is shit. I don't like strangers. What do you want?" 

"Look man, we don't want any trouble. My friend's shot and he just needs medication to treat it. We didn't know anybody still lived here." He pleas to the disgruntled person.

Coming from the man's back, a woman's voice yells from behind, howling, "Quién es? No seas malo! Dejarlas entrar!" An older lady jumps up to his side, pushing the man's shotgun down with a big friendly smile going, "Lo siento, es un hombre malhumorado." 

Echoing at him, the man growls and lowers his weapon, "Maldita sea. Come, come in. Maybe we can help."

"Gracias." Catching them off guard Nick replies, shrugging to the distrusting Daniel, who then hesitantly lowers his weapon also. Both walk pass the man, who peers his head outside surveilling the area before shutting the door behind them and locking it. 

Daniel shutters as the door closes behind them, walking into the living room that holds a couple old recliners, an old couch and many old family photos containing the two of them along with a younger boy, many of which are from decades ago. Sniffing the air, getting enough distance from the couple, Daniel slides next to his partner and quietly whispers to Nick, "Something doesn't smell right. This isn't a good idea, we should keep moving."

"They are just a couple old folks who are willing to help? Stop being so paranoid Daniel." He relays in the same tone.

The greying old mexican woman runs up to them proclaiming, "No hemos tenido invitadas en años! Thirsty? I get you water." 

"No, we really-"

Cutting Daniel off, Nick answers before peering at the elderly man, "Yes please and thank you. I mean 'Gracias'." To which she gives back with a smiles, nods and returns to the kitchen.

The man from the door walks over to the two loitering in the living room, setting his weapon down on a nightstand, sitting on a chair next to it and professes, "My name is Micaiah and that's my wife Hilda. It's been a few months since we had visitors. Please sit and make yourself at home."

Halting Nick who starts to bend towards the couch, untrusting, Daniel snarls at him and suspiciously notes, "I'd rather we discuss the medication. We came here for that after all."

Micaiah remains unfazed and the two older men enter a brief stare off, before Nick tugs on Daniel's shirt saying to him, "Daniel don't be rude." 

A subtle smile peers upon Micaiah's face, and Daniel notices his hand resting on the armchair close enough to the shotgun to make a quick draw. Not wanting a confrontation, the duo then sit on the old couch with Nick quietly mouthing a sheepish "Sorry" which the middle aged man waves it away brushing it off, right as Hilda curves around the corner holding two glasses with water on an old steel tray. Nick graciously takes one off the tray saying to her "Gracias" and Daniel pulls his off without a word before immediately putting it on the table next to him holding a lamp on it. She then goes over to her husband, whispering to one another with their eyes occasionally drifting to Daniel, before she walks away disappearing in the hallway after opening up a door to some downstairs.

The boy sighs, taking a few big gulps of water and confesses to him, "I'm sorry for my friend, he's not great around new people. I'm Nick, and this is Daniel."

"Nice to meet you both." He nods, looking at them with a smile, which fades seeing the old man's callous gaze.

A few minutes pass, not having touched his water, he catches a glimpse of another recent photo containing a picture of a teenage boy, and Daniel directly ponders, "Is this your son?"

"Si. Emmanuel." Micaiah calmly laments. Watching as he surveys the pictures, the stranger relays, "He's in the in basement sleeping right now."

Curiously asking, "Your son is in the basement?"

Tapping his fingers against his leg, the middle aged man relays, "Emmanuel hasn't been feeling well lately and my wife was going to bring him some water."

"Que?" His eyebrow raises at his words and he dubiously notes, "Funny, I didn't see any water in her hands..."

The man's smile grows visibly larger, which leaves Daniel unnerved. Sitting up, he grasps onto Nick's arm saying, "Thanks for the hospitality, but I think we're going to leave now." Before stopping in his tracks, noticing the boy's arm is completely limp. Turning towards him as he's almost passed out, he begins to shake him going "Nick?".

Barely able to keep his eyes open, Nick shakily squeezes out a subtle "Daniel?" before drifting back against the couch like a wet noodle.

Hearing the man's shotgun cock back, Daniel turns around hearing Micaiah sinisterly laughing, "So soon señor? You haven't even met my son yet." Pointing the loaded weapon at the older man, while also screaming for his wife, "Hilda!" 

The basement door opens up and his wife swings around the corner, holding her own Winchester Model 1987 shotgun, which is aimed right at the two of them. Her gentle smile now warped into a sadistic one and Daniel holds his arms up, as she observes asking, "Por qué se sigue moviendo?"   
"El no bebio. El chico todavía está despierto también."

Confirming his suspicions, Daniel growls at the two of them, looking at Nick in distress, "Pedazos de mierda! What did you do to him?!"

"I'd be more worried about yourself. Now drop your weapons and no funny stuff or I'll shoot the boy right here." Daniel begrudgingly unholsters his pistol and pulls out his knife, dropping it on the stand. After he's finished, the assailants wave their guns towards the basement, urging him in that direction. "How about we meet my son, shall we? Move!"

Forcing him at gunpoint, a fuming Daniel gets led down to the dark damp basement, which then explodes in a disgusting rotting smell that almost makes him gag. Micaiah clicks on a lantern which illuminates the dark area, and all around them are scattered bones with pieces of meat still hanging off them, along with maggots and cockroaches slithering all over. Back of the room, a familiar vile screech and holler echoes in the back before the light reveals that of a young teenage boy with a decayed bite mark above his cheek exposing the teeth underneath. 

Michiah calls out to the gored boy who's snapping towards them, "Todavía tienes hambre chico? Todavía no no quiero arruinar tu apetito." Looking at Daniel he pushes, "Put on that chain."

Daniel reaches down, peering behind him seeing a small reflective glow around the man's waist, and then latches the old style prison chains on his right arm. Looking at the boy, he mocks the father, "Él está muerto, cabrón. You're sick, and sick people deserve to be put down."

"Lo que hice? Come again?" Coming within reach of Daniel, pressing his face close to his, Daniel then retaliates by head butting him, which knocks him back a few feet causing him to yell, "Hijo de puta! You're lucky he needs you fresh!"

Letting out his sinister smile, Daniel scoffs at his threats, but is stopped seeing Nick being dragged down the stairs by Hilda, who worryingly harps after seeing Michiah's nose bleeding, "Michiah, que pasó!"

"Bien, Bien. No te preocupes."

"So now what? You going to feed us to your dead son and steal our supplies?" The helpless old man calls out.

Wiping the blood off his nose, confirming Daniel's fears, he proposes, "Si señor. Starting with your helpless friend." Just as they go to drag the limp Nick over there, they are interrupted by a loud _*Knock, Knock, Knock*_ slamming against their front door. 

Hilda anxiously mutters, "Pensaste que dijiste que estaban solos?" 

Returning promisingly, he answers, "Si! Ellos eran!" 

Wanting to keep appearances, they abruptly latch Nick onto the wall across from Daniel and leave the lantern down there, while hurrying upstairs. Waiting till they leave, hearing a click from door's lock, looking at the faltered young Clark across from him calling his name, Nick shakily opens his eyes, with Salazar opening his palm to reveal a key he snagged proclaiming, "I'm going to get us out of here, don't worry."

Earlier midday, Alicia and Allan make their way into a small abandoned villa on the outskirts of Tecate. Walking along the abandoned streets, seeing no infected polluting the area, they come along a restaurant not too far down. Looking at one another, Alicia pulls out her butterfly knife while Allan pulls out his machete and the two walk into the complex. With great force from his long legs, Allan kicks open the door, snapping it off the hinges and begins clanging his machete against the door, echoing in the ghost town's establishment. Hearing a gurgles within the building, but nothing wandering towards them, they enter the building.

"It must be trapped somewhere." He proposes, looking at Alicia he states. "Don't stray too far away, there could be more of them lurking."

Walking throughout the complex, each scanning a different row of booths, Alicia turns towards the kitchen fridge where she's met with a daunting sight. Stabbed in the heart through a piece of a paper on his chest, in a particularly gory scene and jammed inbetween shelves, lays a male infected struggling to get out. Allan swings around the corner, just as Alicia reaches out and jabs the blade in it's skull. Tearing off the piece of paper, she grabs it, reading in bold letters between all the blood, " **Ahí está mi aumento, pedazo de mierda** ".

"What's it say?"

Alicia blankly reaffirms, "Something about a 'raise', along with the obvious. Looks like a disgruntled employee got the last laugh on their boss."

"Any food or water in here?" He asks, despite knowing the answer.

Looking around the room, she glimpses a few cans of beans and pears, stepping around the mangled wreckage and swiping the cans off the ground. She holds the food up, causing him to smile.

Sitting in one of the dusty booths each on opposite sides, after grabbing a clean-ish can opener they crack the cans open. Using some of the leftover silverware from the back, they dig into the food, devouring and drinking the juice like it's a 5 star meal complete with the 'Oooos' and 'Ahhhs' from the both of them.

Lowering her can, Alicia ponders looking at her newfound friend, "So when are you going to let me look at your head?"

Irritated, but not angry, he responds, "It's fine, it's just a lump now. I've had worse, trust me."

Poking fun at him, she hackles, "What? The big brooding man can't take help because he's too macho for it? You are a helluva cliché, it's adorable."

Squinting his brows, he sits back slightly vexed, nipping back with a smirk on his face, "Please don't ever say 'adorable' regarding me again."

"As long as I keep seeing that grin, I don't think I will." Directing with her own smiling comeback. "You can keep playing that act all you want, but I'll break down those walls eventually."

Heaving a breath of exhaustion towards the conversation, Allan gives up sighing blithely staring into her eyes brightened by the light peering in the building, "I just can't win with you, can I?"

"No sir. You cannot." With a big grin, she cheerily admits to the brute, then with a bit of curiosity, asks softly, "Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"So where...Where's your family?" She questions, noticing his eyes drop from his food to the floor.

Silent for a moment, the grisly man answers, forcing his words out, "Out there, somewhere. I hope. I haven't seen my father since I ran away all them years ago, was never very close to him and my mother died the year before that...Cancer."

"Sorry to hear that. Maybe he's still alive out there?" She pries, trying to instill a little hope.

"No...He's dead. I'm not about to fool myself into thinking he isn't, it's been years and he couldn't survive this." Clearing his throat, he then redirects the question back at her, "So what about your family?"

"We were on a boat, getting sucked into the dam when we were split up. Last time I saw my mom, we were being rushed out of the Proctor's bazar and she was chasing our truck down. My older brother and his suicidal bullshit, last time I seen him was on top of the dam with a load of guns trained on him, while our long thought-to-be-dead spanish friend came to his rescue." She admits, which perks Allan's head up.

"Tell me, how much older is your brother?" Allan hastily returns, catching Alicia offgaurd.  
Weirded out by his interrogative response, she answers, "A little over a year?"

"And your spanish friend, was he an older man? Late 60s, maybe early 70s?"

Getting a little too on the nose, she chastens, "Yeah, why?"

"Were their names Nick and Daniel?" Allan confidently confirming her suspicions.

"How...?" Chagrined, she falls back against the booth blown away, "How do you know that?"

A smile appears on his face, and he eases her with a comforting, "They are alive Alicia. I met them last night."

Just as Alicia's hopes rise, cutting their conversation short, the door to the restaurant slams open with the sounds of guns cocking and they hastily turn around to see an unwanted sight. Guns trained on them, Proctors begin to waltz in the building with Darren leading the troops. Allan latches onto his machete, but Alicia swings her hands out towards him to halt mouthing to him, "Don't", in which he restrains himself. 

Walking towards the two, a furious Darren comes up to them announcing, "You've led us on quite a chase girly, and it's costed us another one of our brothers, but it's over now." Looking towards a hostile Allan demanding to them both, "Fight us, I dare you. No more games, let's go. The neanderthal too."

Some time afterwards, arriving back to the highway in one of the regular trucks where Proctor John and his troops remain positioned. Darren opens up the back of the truck and a couple Proctors lead Alicia and Allan out at gunpoint towards the large group of armed Proctors with John rolling up to them both in his wheelchair. 

Tossing them on their knees in front of him, John snickers, "Welcome back Alicia Clark." Looking over at Allan, curious, he asks, "And who might you be?"

"Someone you don't want to piss off." He snaps back, gritting his teeth.

Laughing at his empty threat, looking around at all his Proctors wielding AKs, AR-15s, handguns and shotguns of different types, he then turns his head back to Allan noting, "I think the same goes for you boy." Sighing, he turns back to Alicia and musters angrily, "Eddie confessed to his treason. Don't worry, he's still alive. That was a dumb thing for you both to do and in the process, you costed another one of my Proctor's life. Now tell me Alicia Clark, what would you do in my position?"

Signaling his men, Darren whips out his 1911 handgun, aiming right at Allan's head. Frightened for his safety, Alicia screams out, "No! Don't!" 

Pulling out her knife suddenly, she whips out the blade and John chuckles, "And what do you plan to do with that? You couldn't possibly make it to me in time."

Turning the blade instead on her own neck, she suicidally threatens, "I don't know what you want with me, but you won't get it if you kill him! He's done nothing wrong, just let him go!"

"What a show you put on." Clapping his hands a couple times together in utter amusement, John scoffs remarking, "But tell me, do you have the strength to do it?" Allan shakes his head towards her, but she ignores pressing the edge hard enough to bleed. Before she can push it in, he holds his hand up, signaling Darren to lower his weapon announcing, "Enough."

Not giving in, Darren protests, "You can't be serious John? Who gives a shit? She killed Sloane! Her mother destroyed the marketplace, killing many more of our brothers in the process and Her brother destroyed the dam which led to it all being for nothing! Why are we keeping her alive?!"

A twitch of his lip, and he looks over towards his Proctor growls harshly, "Don't question me anymore Darren, you won't like the answer."

Waving his gun around between John and Allan, a vexed Darren screams out, "To hell with you John! This bitch and her family deserve to die! Those drugs you are taking must have knocked a screw loose! Have you completely lost it?! You don't deserve your seat any-!"

***Blam!***

John's luger smokes from the barrel, with the shell casing hitting the ground next to Allan's hands. Darren plunges to the ground with a fresh bullet hole entered in his forehead and brain matter oozing out. Turning towards the rest of his visibly shaken Proctors, in tranquil fury John posits, "Tell me; have I lost it?" Almost all of which immediately shake their heads in disagreement, and John smiles with a sly, "Good. Now throw her in the back with Eddie and leave the caveman. We've got alot of ground to cover before we make it to Santa Fe." 

Alicia lowers the knife, and she gets dragged away by the Proctors. Alicia desperately back at Allan, who's eye's light up watching her go, grinding his teeth and forcing himself to remain still to avoid anymore problems. 

Proctor John dauntingly looks down upon a frustrated Allan and heeds, "Make any attempt to fight back, and I'll make her suffer while you watch. I'll peel the flesh from her bones right in front of you. Keep that in mind."

Allan remains on the ground, staring at the pavement with an empty gaze, only hearing the vehicles rev up and drive off. As soon as they leave, he clenches his fist and strikes the tar, bloodying up his knuckles a little bit. Standing up, he looks around and then up at the sky. Nearing the later half of the day, breathing vexingly, he gathers his things, venturing down the road.

A few hours pass into the late day and coming down a long stretch of road with a sign on the side reading 'Mexicali - 23', Allan sees a familiar tanker truck turning down a dirt road in the distance. Recognizing the vehicle, he follows it's direction, wandering up the same road. Following their trail, he comes upon the same house Nick and Daniel were at. Realizing it's the same tanker, he looks around the area and then proceeds to the door. Listening briefly against it, but hearing nothing, Allan raises his hand into a fist and pounds against the door three times.

Hearing footsteps approaching, he backs slightly from the door and suddenly Michiah opens it up with his shotgun readily on his side with Hilda's sniveling face standing behind him empty handed. Obviously adrenaline fueled, Michiah shakily responds a mere, "Puedo ayudarte."

Not wasting time, Allan quickly posits, looking behind them and seeing no sign of Nick or Daniel, "No hablo español. I'm looking for my friends, an old spanish man and late teen. Are they here?"

"No...No, They got scared by our guns, left their truck and ran off into the mountains behind the house." Shaking their heads they slyly remark, "You want to come in? Maybe they'll return shortly for their truck."

"Sure." Slowly stepping in behind them, while scanning the place and noticing a full glass and another empty one on the nightstands. Pressing them for more details, he interrogates, "So they ran off into the mountains huh?"

"Si, si. Skiddish bunch, they were." Swallowing a gulp of spit, lying through their teeth.

Allan derides their statments, slowly gliding his hand to his machete, "So why is it that I don't believe you?"

_*Thud!*_

The sound of the basement door being smacked against briefly jolts Michiah and Hilda's head towards it's direction, while Allan keeps trained on them while pulling his machete in the distraction. Hilda turns back to Allan who raises his blade and cries out to her husband, "Estar atento!"

In the basement, Daniel, clutching Nick underneath his arms tries to push against the basement door after realizing it's locked. Within seconds of his first attempt, he pulls away hearing Hilda's cries along with multiple thuds slamming on the floor, crashes of glass, mashing squishy sounds and after a few moments, nothing. Following the silence, the sound of grinding against the wood floors echo in the basement, which sets Daniel uneasy, clutching Nick tightly ready for anything. Hearing the lock being undone, he quickly presses the key between his fingers like a shank, then door handle turns and he stops seeing Allan standing above him. Looking on the ground underneath his feet are two bloodstains leading out into the kitchen and dragging Nick upwards through the living room, he sees the house in total ruin along with crimson spatter nearly everywhere.

Looking to the old man, Allan inquires, "Are you both okay?"

Surprised by their savior, Daniel can only nod astoundingly in response.

Later that night, Nick awakens, drowsy from his poisoning and sees Daniel sitting at a fire. Unsettled and confused, he asks, "How did we? What happened?"

Snickering at his question, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to take stuff from strangers?"

"Ow my head," Exhaling a pained gurgle. "Well they seemed nice at first."

Omitting from the shadows, Allan walks over to his surprise and sits across from them, admitting, "That's funny, because neither of you were when I first met you; Nick Clark."

"Allan?" A befuddled Nick blurts out, "What are you doing here? Wait, I never told you my full name before?"

Looking to Daniel, who returns his direction back to Allan and with eyes reflecting off the fire, Allan announces to him, "I've found your sister Nick. She's in danger and you are going to help me get her back."

Hearing his words, Nick's eyes widen, with his lip twitching in relieved excitement. Looking to Daniel for confirmation who gives him a confident smile, he then turns back to Allan who nods to him assuredly. Relaxing for the rest of the night, the cheery trio begin to pass a few cans of beans to one another.

_**Writer: BetterAngels95** _


	5. The Scorpion Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madison and Walker meet the leader of a dangerous gang known as the "Alacráns", while trying to think of way out of their predicament. Strand and Crazy Dog confront their differences. Lastly, Nick, Daniel and their newfound ally Allan travel to Santa Fe, meeting hazards along the way.

**DISCLAIMER: This is a non canon fan written story. All characters from the TV show are owned by AMC and Robert Kirkman, not me. I'm just a dude. All original creations are mine though.**

Looking out the van's front Maria Lu's driver side window, Madison notices odd terrains driving through the Baja plains. Uneasy by the circumstance, she anxiously asks Maria Lu, "Where are we going?" 

Despite her words, Maria Lu speaks to one of her men in Mandarin laughing outloud, "Tā zhēn fā píqì."  
The asian man joins in with a big smile, "Duō kě'ài."

Chuckling and continuing to drive on, ignoring her. Not taking the silence lightly any further, she growls at them up front, "Answer me goddammit! This isn't the way to Broke Jaw Ranch!"

Turning her head back to Madison, slithering an unconcerned smile to her, Maria Lu replies, "Silly girl. Who said we going to your ranch? We have business to discuss with our employer. He wants to meet the ones who lost his business with the Proctors."

Looking over to the up Taqa sitting next to her, who shakes his head worryingly, Madison turns back to the woman in charge and asks, "Who's your employer, and what does he want?"

"A legitimate business man. You'll see soon enough, it's a short drive."

Early in the morning, not too long after, the van drives up a dirt road. Taqa squirms around trying to get out of his cuffs, but Madison halts him. Leaning in close, she whispers, "Now's not the time to fight."

Looking around the vehicle, with the group of armed guys hovering them, he relents, " _If we don't now, who know what's going to happen._ "

" _Trust me, Taqa. Don't do anything rash, especially now_." She says, pressing her hands on his knees, calming him down.

Maria Lu starts giggling, looking in the mirror speaking to the both of them, "You got something to share, or should I get a room for you both?" With the both of them scowling at her statements and gathering their attention, she points up ahead of her acknowledging, "We are coming upon their complex. Pay attention; If you want to live, you do exactly what they say."

Large brick walls encompass around the complex, with a large gate holding armed men in front and on top patrolling the area. Driving up to the front gate, they are stopped at the entrance by one of the armed goons, who comes up to the driver side window, while on the other side, the men just encircle vehicle. Madison trying to listen in on the driver's conversation only makes out Maria Lu's name along with their own. The goon allows them through and the gate opens up. Driving inside this well protected fortress, they see children playing in the street, only for their mothers to drag them back inside after seeing the cars incoming. Everyone shutting their doors and windows all around in their nicely made housing shacks encircling a fountain in the middle and a mansion in the background. Madison notices that a group of men standing in front of the large building, remain out in the open, seemingly awaiting them.

Parking out in front, their doors are opened up by the men standing around them. Maria Lu and her crew are dragged out and patted down. The heavily spanish leader of the gang sporting medium sized bushy brown hair, a big mustache, dressed in a plaid button up shirt, nice blue jeans and big shaded sunglasses, comes up to her and speaks with her, but their words are unable to be heard by Madison and Taqa. 

The side door slams open and the two are dragged out the back, and thrown onto the ground in front of the leader, while Maria and her men stand on the side. Looking at the two of them, he announces, "Do you know who I am?"

"Should I?" Defiantly declaring, she looks up at him. Guys armed all around in every peripheral, Taqa looks at her completely frightened, yet her gaze remains unfettered.

With a relaxing smile, he calmly states, "You should señora, I am the man keeping you alive. My name is Rafael Mano, líder de los Alacráns and you are in my domain." Given his formalities, he signals one of his men, to which Madison gets grabbed and brought up on her feet alone. Eye level with the leader, she stares him down, to which he returns with a solemn, "Por favor, relax. Let's not be enemies. Come, come. Let's take a walk, you and I, and we'll get to know each other better."

Wrapping his arms around her, she immediately smacks him away with her tied hands to his surprise, demanding, "I'm not going anywhere with you, unless you can promise my friend's safety."

Gazing at the irate woman, he smiles and looks to one of his men, stating, "Trae a nuestros amigos algo de comida. Quítale las esposas," One of the men walk overs, bearing a scorpion tattoo on his cheek comes and undoes her handcuffs. He then looks at her, encouraging her by waving his hands in a friendly manner, "Come, let's go."

Walking alongside the man through his pretty decent sized enclosed community, Madison questions, "You got me out here. Now what?"

Ecstatically opening his arms, looking around he passes, "Why the hostility señora Clark?"

"Funny, I don't remember giving you my name." She snarls. 

"No you didn't, but you and your family have become quite famous among these parts; ' _The family who stood up to The Proctors and won_ '; your stories are all over the valley, It's quite impressive actually." Admitting to her with his towering heavily spanish accent, "Unfortunately though, you lost me a lot of my business in return Madison Clark."

Defending her position, she snaps back, "The Proctors threatened my children, I did what any parent would do."

Curving the edge of his lips downward, he nods, "Si. My daughter Emilia is my life and I understand your position." Biting his lip, he furthers, "So that means you are the woman who destroyed the dam, unleashing all that water in hope that it doesn't dry up in the desert heat? The matriarch, who lost my business with the Proctors by torching El Bazar the ground? And the same mother of the boy who ended our affiliation with the La Mana's with their promise of a fortress? Si?"

Walking with her, they come upon a scene with five of the goons beating upon a young man. Seeing their leader and Madison coming upon them, they pull the young man up, pressing him against the wall. Rafael halts her, walking over to them asserting in spanish, "El problema?"

The one Alacrán spouting, "Nos mintió. Este idiota nos robó!"

Looking at the man intently, breathing a deep snort from his nose, Rafael exhorts, "El asunto?"  
Pleading, with tears draining down his face, "Mi familia señor, estamos desesperados. No nos hizo daño, teníamos suficiente. Lo siento jefe, No quise lastimarlos..."

Rafael places his arms on his shoulder, shushing him, and conforting him repeating, "Está bien, está bien. No te preocupes, me ocuparé de eso. Si?"

Patting the man on the back, he nods to his men, and turns away walking towards Madison. His men turn towards the civilian, as one draws their pistol and blasts him with a single echoing ***Blam!***. Brain matter splatters on the wall, with his body slumping against it as Rafael callously stalls towards Madison, maintaining, "Lo siento señora Clark, shall we continue?"

"What the hell was that?" She harkens with her eyes widened to the atrocity.

"Oh this man? Shame. He was a strong man full of courage, but was a fool. He was stealing our... uh, supplies, and saying it was for his family. We've run a business since before this event, a business the policia may not have liked, but a business nonetheless. And men like him, they are fiends. They take, but do not need." Rafael proclaims proudly.

Seeing a small plantation of Marijuana in behind one of the pueblo huts, Madison points out, "You were drug smugglers?"

"If that's what you want to call it, but I prefer 'entrepenuers'. We distribute most of the drugs in the valley, while using the profit to keep our people safe and contento. This business these days is our lifeline." Defending his position in a calm manner, then professes, "You see, had he taken the drugs and ran like he was planning, I would have had to hunt him down along with his wife, children, friends, associates. In the end, many people would have to die. There are ways around it, El Hoyo for example, but he left me no choice; I gave him many chances, but you can't trust a serpiente. Comprende?" Explaining to her, while walking her throughout the areas showing her some more dilapidated houses pointing, "So, my associate Maria Lu tells me you have something to offer, si? I never liked The Proctors. Loud, obnoxious, no rules but the ones they make for themselves; but they brought me good business, kept my people fed, so I tolerated. Tell me, what have you got to offer that's worth the loss of all my business?"

Admitting to him sternly, Madison announces, "There's a ranch not far passed the border with an entire pantry of supplies, weapons and enough food to last a couple years, even for a community this large. It'd take a day, maybe two to get there. It was a survialist camp that got attacked by a horde, but if they haven't left by now, they can be lead away. It's an untouched gold mine."

"Bien, now how can I trust you? You obviously have more cojones than The Proctors were prepared for. You got, what's the word, 'grit'?" Fishing for cracks in her demeanor, he pushes, "Maybe I should keep your friend for the time being, as collateral."

"No, he stays with me. Taqa's life won't be used as a bargaining chip, I won't allow it. I don't trust you anymore than you trust me, but if you want those supplies, you do it my way or you can just shoot me right goddamn now and you have nothing." Commanding him without regard for her safety.

His lip twitches in frustration, heaving deeply and his cold straight face suddenly turns into a half cocked grin. Wagging his pointer finger at her, he pauses for a second then chortles, "Estoy contento, I like you señora Clark. Strong and determined. You don't take no bullshit. Fine, a gesture of my good faith then." Extending his hand towards her, she reluctantly does the same and they shake. Pulling their hands away, Rafael brushes it off wrapping his arm around her shoulder and says, "Come, let there be no more of this business talk. We got plenty of other things to talk about. Tell me about your family and your struggles?" 

Shortly after, Taqa comes out of one of the larger buildings on the side, escorted by three of Rafael's men and is brought to Rafael and Madison who are walking back towards them. Meeting in the middle by the marble fountain devoid of water, Rafael laughs and says to Madison, "My men here will drive you. I hope we are in an understanding? No problemas?"

"No problems."

"Si, Good. Just remember; I don't like to be wrong about people." Signalling his men, they once more handcuff her and Rafael waves as the both of them are getting thrown in the back of the van once more, finalizing with, "It was a delight, adios Madison Clark. Until next time."

**Fear The Walking Dead**

**The Forgotten Fear**

**A fan written continuation based on the series created by Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman**

Driving down the I-10 in the tanker down some, Nick is pressed on the window with Daniel driving and Allan sitting in the middle taking up the most room. Irritated and feeling claustraphobic, Nick fumbles around and barks, "Goddamn, when are we going to stop? I can't take being in this truck squished against the window for much longer."

Speaking up too, Allan agrees, adding, "I hate to admit it, but being able to stretch our legs would be nice. We've been driving nonstop for hours and you look exhausted."

Driving pass a road sign proclaiming it to be only a few miles from Tuscon, revealing their location to be in the Arizona region, coming upon underneath a large highway overpass bridge. Daniel slows the vehicle down, swerving around a couple abandoned vehicles before coming to a complete stop noticing some cars parked sideways in front of them blocking their path. Looking over at the other two, he proclaims pointing at the abandoned cars, "There. We'll stretch our legs by moving those."

Jumping out of the vehicle almost immediately, Nick stretches his arms wide, while Allan and Daniel subtly come out the other side. Noticing Daniel limping as he's coming out of the vehicle, Allan worryingly asks, "You ok?"

"These bones aren't as nimble as they used to be." Laughing it off, he notices Allan staring at the bubbly Nick cracking his back flailing around and curiously reverbirates, "Are you ok?"

Allan let's out a hollow "yeah" and then walks away from Daniel and over to the cars parked in the road. Watching him go over there, Daniel twists his head back to Nick, watching him intently. 

Calling out to the boy, Daniel yells, "You coming Nick?" To which the junkie nods and waltzes over to them. 

Peering into the dusty windows of the abandoned cars, Daniel pops open the driver side door and reaches inside. Pulling the shift out of park, the first vehicle begins rolling with Allan and Nick pushing on the back to further it along while he steers it away. As they get further into the ditch, Daniel holds his arm out and the two stop pushing. Coming out of the car, Daniel looks at the remaining two cars in the way which have large dents on the side, smashed into each other. Pieces of aluminum siding lay scattered all around, and he walks around those to the busted driver side door.

Prying it open, the door peels like a can of sardines and he's able to squeeze inside. Waving for Nick and Allan, they go to the back. Daniel calls to them both, "Push as hard as you can. The cars are kind of stuck together, we need to pull them away from each other."

Walking towards the back, the two of them push hard as Daniel undoes the shift. Gliding against the other car as they move forward, the loud screeching of metal grinding echoes throughout the overpass. On the top of the bridge hearing the echoes down below, a passing group of infected take notice, and their ragdoll bodies maneuver in the direction of the sound letting out a raspy snarl to one another.

Splitting the cars apart, the push it over to the ditch, with Daniel remarking, "Good, now let's get the last one and we'll-"

 _*Smash!*_  
An infected's body falls from the overpass right onto the final car, caving the roof in. Another one drops in the ditch like a sack of bricks, following another on the pavement. Soon it becomes a shower of bodies falling from the top, some landing on their heads killing them instantly, while most get back up almost immediately. Drunkenly shambling up to their feet, the creatures growl at the guys and begin waddling towards them. 

Backing up slowly, Nick turns around to see more bodies falling off the overpass behind them. Becoming more cornered by the second, he relays to his compadres, "We're getting boxed in!"

Daniel draws his pistol, but Allan waves it down stating, "That'll just draw more of them over here. We have to leave now, there's too many." Seeing an opening around the concrete barrier, Allan ushers him and Nick in that direction yelling, "We can get through over there. Let's go!"

Charging head first into the crowd of infected, Allan whips out his machete slashing one's face off, with Daniel coming shortly behind who grabs a jagged piece of metal and jams it in a monster's head. Allan helps Daniel over the concrete wall, with Nick following lastly stabbing a couple on the way. 

Kicking one to the ground, Nick freezes, suddenly put in a state of shell shock as he knocks over the skinny undead blonde girl. She turns her gored neck towards him, dried bloody goop oozing from her lips and once again, he hears an echoing "Gloria..." along with visions of his first encounter, the owl, the hallucinations on the road to La Colonia and his recent trippy event at the dam.

Allan notices his hesitation, seeing the infected beginning to swarm all around him and jumps down into the fray. An undead man pounces at Nick, but Allan's machete slams down on it's skull. Kicking another away, he grabs Nick's arm and screams, "Are you trying to get yourself killed!? Let's go!" 

Snapping him out of it, Allan drags Nick away. An infected latches onto Allan's arm and he struggles briefly before gaining the strength, elbowing it in the face. Stabbing a couple more before the two join Daniel on top of the barrier, they are met with even more opposition. Swarming all around, arms extending throughout the top of the barrier practically grabbing the trio's feet with the howling of infected screeching on all sides.

"Now what?" Looking to Allan, Daniel blurts out, each standing back to back kicking the hands away.  
Looking at their lack of options, he unsurely responds while also throwing shade at Nick, "We had an opening a second ago, if it wasn't for someone deciding now's the perfect time to go all suicidal."

"Hey man, I didn't ask you to save me!" He retaliates, snapping back at him.

Being the intermediate, Daniel harps, "It doesn't matter now! Let's think of a way out of it!" Scanning around the overpass, he notes, "We have to find a way to distract them, even if it's for a couple seconds."

Realizing the truck is their only option, Allan looks to them both and announces, "I'm going to make a break for the truck, you both get the hell out of here when I start blaring the horn!"

"Allan..."

Ushering them to leave, he calmly pushes, "Don't worry about me, just go. I'll catch up." 

Jumping over the infected and to the ground below, Daniel and Nick watch as he drags a few of the infected away, rushing to the truck dodging the plentiful amount of dead swarming around him, flipping one over his shoulder. Jumping in the driver side door, seeing the keys still in the ignition, he turns it on, revving the engine and starts honking the horn. Infected tilt their empty unflinching eyes towards the truck, almost all of which but a stray couple start shuffling towards Allan.

Seeing their opportunity, they jump down and a couple stray infected lunge at them, but Daniel pistol whips it away and Nick plunges his knife into the other. Looking back as they are about to hit the clearing, they see Allan in the vehicle completely surrounded with infected rocking the truck as he's blaring the horn. Inside the tanker he pulls the shift in reverse and tries backing up, but smashes into one of the abandoned wrecks. Going to drive forward, he runs over a few infected, but gets stuck as the wheel lands on quite a few of them just skidding off the bodies kicking up skin and inards going nowhere. 

Out of options, Allan mutters to himself, "Shit!" Seeing the two lingering in the distance he rolls down the window screaming, "Get the hell out of here now!"

Obliging his request, Daniel and Nick abandon him underneath the overpass and into the grassy desert plain towards some buildings in the distance.

Still sitting on the rooftop on the cloudy day across from the now charred Bazar, Strand and Crazy Dog sit on opposite sides from one another. Anxiously, Strand stands up and begins pacing the rooftop.  
Exasperated as Lee watches him walk around, he jokes, "You got a stick up your ass or something?"

Concerned, he answers aggravatedly, "How long are we going to wait for them? It's already been over a day and I don't particularly like sitting around waiting for shit to hit the fan."

"We wait until they come back. There's nothing else we can do. Have faith, Madison and Taqa are strong, they'll get through it." Calmly admitting under his heavy baggy eyes. 

"If you haven't figured it out, I'm not a man of faith. That feckless thug abandoned us long ago, we're on our own now." Hearing Lee yawn, taking notice he tells him, "You should get some rest, you look tired. You've been awake for well over 24 hours."

Laughing, brushing it off, he recollects, "I managed longer during my tours in Iraq. Sometimes it'd be 2 to 3 days before I could get a couple hours. This is a cakewalk compared to that, at least the dead don't shoot back."

Biting the bottom of his lip, Strand turns his face away from him, sighs and let's out a half-hearted smirk while shaking his head. Looking onto the smoking Bazar, seeing walkers roaming the streets, he turns away and steps back to where he had been siting, scoffing to Lee, "Fine. If you don't want to, then I will. If we get attacked in the middle of it all, just wake me to exposit a grandiose 'I told you so'."

Watching Victor shut his eyes, Lee yawns once more, then looks into the cloudy sky and listens to the breeze swaying against him.

Climbing over a guard rail towards a supermarket with a bunch of abandoned cars, Daniel and Nick begin inspecting some of the unlocked vehicles. Opening up some of the cars to no avail, Nick climbs in one and drops the flap next to the rearview mirror. To his glee, out falls a key and he exclaims to himself, "Yes!", before turning his head looking in the back seat. Looking in the back seat, he sees a blood covered baby carrier and he lifts his head up, mouth agape and depressingly heaves. Opening his pockets, he sees he only has two more of the pain medication left and begins scanning the surroundings for Daniel. Seeing him investigating one of the other vehicles, Nick pulls the narcotics in the palm of his hand and stares at them longingly for a couple seconds.

Going to plop them into his mouth, he's suddenly jolted by a familiar man's voice speaking coming from behind piqued, "So, that's what it is?"

Turning around to see the large and hairy still breathing Allan standing behind him, shocked and somewhat gleeful, an astonished Nick cheerily declares, "Holy shit, you are alive! We thought-"

Cut short of exposition, Allan cracks him over the face with a heavy sucker punch, sending the boy plummeting to the ground. Noticing the commotion Daniel jumps out the car seeing Allan to his surprise. Clenching his cheek, Nick tries to crawl away with Allan standing above, who reaches down and strips the pills from his hand while he's still dazed. Pinching the pill, Allan examines it and holds it out towards Nick exclaiming, "You won't be needing this anymore."

He whips the pills away out towards the parking lot with all his force, and Nick pleas, "No!"

Leaning in closer, scrunching his face and wagging his finger at him, the fuming brute growls, "If you ever do that again, then next time I'll let the dead tear you apart. I'm only here because of your sister, but you? From what I hear, you are the reason your family are in this shit to begin with. You best get your shit together, because If you become a liability for me? I'll kill you myself."

Daniel runs over, seeing Nick wiping the blood off his mouth and getting up on his feet, he calls to the other survivor, "Santa mierda, you're alive? Everything okay?"

"Just having a little man-to-man discussion, aren't we Nick?" He coyly remarks, watching as Nick gets back to his feet, eyeing him down as the boy walks away from the two in a huff. Looking back to

Daniel, Allan regards to his situation, "I managed to give them the slip. Alot easier to do when you only have yourself to worry about."

Nodding along with a quick, "I see", then looms to a heated Nick clenching his cheek pacing in a circle.

Reaching into the car, Allan drops the carriage on the ground, and with the fresh bruise on his cheek, Nick's eyes swell in moisture seeing it once more. All three hop into the vehicle, with Allan driving and Daniel in the passenger seat. Nick reluctantly gets in, seeing the remnants of the stains still in it.

Starting the car up, Allan sees the gas gauge is barely a quarter full and remarks, "We won't make it to Santa Fe, but at least we'll gain some ground and in a vehicle where we aren't cramped." Checking his rearview, he looks at Nick in the back who scowls at him, and Allan snuffs at his grievance while disappointingly shaking his head. Hitting the gas, the three speed out of the parking lot and into the Arizona desert horizon. 

Waking up from his nap a few hours later with the sun beginning to go down, Strand stretches, and starts rubbing the sand from his eyes. Looking across from him, he notices Lee passed out practically drooling upon himself in a bit of a snore. Seeing the opportunity, he begins packing some things and slyly mocks, grabbing one of the guns, "I'll be needing that." Looking down on the veteran passed out, he snides, "Your loyalty is admirable, but I'm not willing to die for any of you. Give my best regards."

Coming down the stairs of the restaurant, walking towards the darkened exit of the building, reaching the door, Strand pauses momentarily and dauntingly sighs, "Sorry Madison."

 _*Click*_  
Hearing the sound of a gun cocking coming behind him, he chuckles a couple times and frustratingly mutters, "Well shit."

"Ever heard of The Farmer and The Viper?" Lee states, coming out of the shadow, having his rifle tamed on the con man.

"Sorry, I left my books back on my yacht." Strand sarcastically groans. 

"Farmer found a viper frozen in the snow. Out of pity he brings it inside and warms it up; it would have died in the snow otherwise. But, when the Viper thawed out, it turned on the man and bit him, so he died instead. Moral of the story: the nature of oneself can't be changed..." He says unflinchingly, finger on the trigger.

"That's rather pessimistic." How Turning all the way back around and seeing his adversary shrouded in moonlight. Holding his arms out, Strand sheepishly harkens, "Look, we don't have to do this. You go your way, I'll go mine."

Laughing at his desperation, Lee calls him out with his finger on the trigger, "Madison may want you alive for whatever reason, but then again, Madison's not around right now. Is she?"

Pouring out a sappy attempt to negotiate, he reverberates his tired line, "Look we can make a deal... I'll leave what I took, the supplies, this gun, and you won't ever see me again. I'll be gone for good."

"That shit doesn't work anymore Victor Strand. Those days of bribery and deceit are dead, along with the world and everyone in it." 

Hearing a few gurgling snarls coming from behind the door, Strand tilts his head listening in towards it, then tilts back and confidently smiles at Lee. Huffing towards the aggressor, he proclaims, "The world doesn't die until you die. And me? Heh, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Grappling the handle, he pulls the door open and five infected begin rushing in. Lee panics and pulls his knives, flipping the rifle over his shoulder not wanting to use it, while Strand hides behind the door. Awaiting the last infected, he pulls around the other side and runs out the exit, but not before bowing and saying a final "Salud" to Crazy Dog, leaving him fending off the dead. 

Hearing Lee's grunts as he fights them off, he lets out a hubristic laugh, and starts limping down the street. Half assingly jogging to the end towards the front of the gate to the Bazar, a bullet ricochets off a vehicle next to him, along with a loud ***Blam!***. Jolting him, Strand ducks behind the corner, peering from the side seeing Crazy Dog running out the building holding his rifle.

Yelling out to him, Lee screams, "You think I haven't dealt with Them before?! You're not going anywhere you son of a bitch!"

Muttering "Shit" to himself, he then hollers to Lee, "I just want to leave! Let me go!"

"You screwed that up asshole!" He angrily shouts, popping off another shot randomly. ***Blam!*** His gun fires, peeling off a piece of concrete next to where Strand's sitting, just as he ducks back, "I gave you a chance! Madison gave you a chance! But you are no different than where you started! You brought The Proctors on the dam! You split her family apart! You are the one that caused all of it! As far as I'm concerned, I'll just say an infected got you when she calls back."

With his heart racing, peering back over the side Strand retaliates with, "And wasn't it you who took her husband away and shot him without viable reason? You want to talk about splitting the family, you are the one who tore it apart in the first place!" 

***Blam! Blam!***  
Crazy Dog shoots a couple more times towards him, which Strand evades, and it tears off pieces of the brick building he's hiding behind. Infected in the distance begin to gather from the sound, clamoring towards the both of them.

Seeing the pieces of clay and shale on the ground near him, along with the multiple infected coming at them, he frightenedly howls clutching the pistol he snagged, "You're going to get us both killed at this rate!"

Peering over the corner, Strand sees Lee pointing his rifle, but Lee get's distracted as an infected lunges at him from behind and he frantically holds it off. Seeing the opportunity, Strand runs down the street towards the front of the gate. Coming halfway down, running in front of an alleyway, suddenly he's tackled by Lee. Knocking him to the ground with a hard smack. Pulling the rifle off his shoulder, he points it at Strand's head violently threatening, "No way out this time dickhead."

"Please!"

"Save it," He professes steadily, ready to pull the trigger, "I don't even care to hear it. You are nothing but a cowardice sniveling-"

" _Heh...Hello? Lee?_ " Madison's voice crackles over the radio, distracting him from the trigger " _Are you guys still there?_ "

Hearing her voice on the radio, he simmers down, lowers his weapon, pulls out the radio and answers back, "Yeah, I'm still here."

"Me too!" Strand yells loud enough for her to hear while he still holds down the button, to Lee's disgruntled dismay.

Sitting in the vehicle they left the Alacráns with, Taqa in the passenger seat and none else around; driving down a road in Tijuana cheerily, she exclaims, "Good." Then further adds after hearing his voice, "How's Victor?"

Strand smugly grins hearing this statement, and Lee begrudgingly admits, "He's fine."

"We're trapped behind some infected, but we'll be there soon."

Letting go of the radio's button, pulling his finger off the trigger, he grabs Strand and drags him upright admitting, "You're lucky this time, but cross me again, or ever try your slithery shit again; luck won't be enough to save you, you piece of shit." Grappling his shirt's cuffs, he pulls Strand to his face before thrusting him, stumbling him backwards. 

"Story of my life." Victor mockingly heaves while the both of them stand on the street in front of the Bazar's gate. 

Lee starts walking with Strand back to the building, but then Lee turns back around and decks him, knocking him to the ground exclaiming, "You deserved that one asshole."

Spitting blood on the pavement, Strand returns with a chuckle, admitting, "I probably did." Then he longingly looks off in the distance towards incoming infected, before getting back on his feet, and the two begin walking side by side towards the building they were staying at. 

Stopping on the side of the road with their newfound car, careening to the side of the road, noticing the skies beginning to turn black. Nick, Daniel and Allan step out of the vehicles, creating a fireplace in the middle of the plains off the highway. Positioning himself inbetween on top of the car's hood sits Daniel resting his legs, while Nick and Allan sit on oppsite sides of the fire. Cooking cans over the fire, they each pass it to one another. Silently, they each eat their portion complacently.

Eating his food, a bruised Nick looks to Allan questioning, "So you found Alicia huh? How was she doing?" 

Allan mitigates, "She was being attacked and was on the run. I found her and brought her to a cave not too far away. She's quite the wily one, took a beating before I managed to calm her down. She said something about your mother too, that she's alive and something about a bazar? I don't know what that means."

Relieved, he mumbles as he takes another bite, "The Bazar was a trading post, ran by some asshole biker gang called The Proctors."

"So I heard. Met their leader too. Smug prick."

Nick cackles, "Yeah, that sounds like Proctor John alright."

Daniel sits silently on the hood chewing his food, listening into the conversation without input before a stick cracking in the distance startles him. Setting his food down, drawing his gun, he looks around seeing nothing and turns his face back towards the two at the fire before an abrupt *click* following a blunt object pressed on his head halts him. Looking to his side he sees a dirty stranger wearing a dingy black duster holding a TT-30 pointed at his head. Two more follow from behind wearing similar grimy garbs, holding their own pistols on Allan and Nick, each coming from behind the car towards the two at the fire.

Before Allan can reactively draw his long blade, the man holding Daniel up notifies, "I wouldn't do that if you know what's good for you and your friends. We just want your supplies and anything else you might have. Play nice, and you all walk away."

"Look asshole, we got enough food to share and my friend's shot. He needs the medicine. We can work something out." Nick verily protests ballsy, trying to negotiate.

Giggling with his buddies looking to one another, the bandit standing behind Nick declares peering down on him, "Boy, does it look like we care?"

The one behind Allan harps, "Maybe we should have some fun with the kid? Maybe then he'll learn when to keep quiet."

Looking to the one near Daniel, the bandit next to Nick ominously smiles and begins dragging him by his hair across the gravel. Daniel motions to get up, but the bandit next to him pushes the gun harder and suggests, "I wouldn't old timer."

Watching it go down helplessly, the temperature on Allan's skin rises dramatically as his face scrunches further and further and he avows with a sharp tongue, "You're going to regret this."  
Slapping him upside the head with his gun, knocking Allan over on his side, the Bandit laughs, "And what are you going to do about it?"

Writhing and trying to wiggle from the man, Nick manages to get a strike on the man's groin and he briefly lets go, growling, "Son of bitch! You did it now!" 

Jumping on top of Nick, the bandit wraps his hands around his throat, and starts squeezing hard. Daniel and Allan watch feebely as the boy gasps for air. Pressing his knee into his gut trying to pry him away, Nick manages to knock the bandit's one hand loose. Out of options, Nick opens his mouth and latches onto the man's hand using his teeth. Biting down as hard as he can, he tears into the skin, snaps the man's finger backwards and tears off a huge chunk of meat causing him to scream like a banshee profusely. Laughing maniacally with his mouth dripping with blood, Nick spits the meat and gore into the guy's face.

Falling off of him, rolling on the ground grasping his hand, the man painfully hollers, "The bastard bit me! What the shit!" A couple undead hear take note from the distance turning their heads towards them. 

The panicked bandit next to Allan drops his eyes from him remarking, "What the f..." and seeing the opportunity, Allan grabs a handful of sand and whips it into the man's face. Blinding him briefly, the man wildly shoots at him, but misses and blasts the ground.

Feeling the pressure lighten against his head as the bandit next to him goes to shoot Allan, Daniel draws his own pistol and without hesitation fires into his head, splattering brain matter everywhere.

Pulling his machete, Allan plunges it into the dingy man, pushing it right through his stomach and out his back. Watching as he gasps, clinging desperately onto Allan's poncho; Allan cruelly grunts and quickly rips it out of him, slicing his gut open pouring his intestines onto the ground. 

Daniel and Allan share a respective look, nodding to one another, before looking back towards Nick, now standing over his attacker who's on his back clutching his hand.

Nick slowly walks sinisterly to the man with a big bloody grin as the man despairingly tries to crawl away, crying and pleading, "Please man! Show me mercy!" 

"And let you go and hurt someone else? Rob them like you and your asshole friends tried to rob us? No." Throwing a disgusted look to his pleas, seeing infected incoming, Nick scoffs grabbing the guy's gun off the ground and aims it at his head.

Laying on his back, screaming at him, the remaining anguished bandit confesses, "You sadistic bastard! You already killed my friends man! What more do you want?!"

Sporting a vile half cocked grin, Nick silently watches the man squirm around, finger twitching on the trigger. After a few seconds, he slowly lowers the gun. The escaped convict sighs graciously, muttering, "Oh thank you," but then his face turns white as snow following the sound of a couple pairs of footsteps coming behind him. Hearing their snarls, the bandit turns his head and sees the infected nearly right over him as Nick watches contently.

An infected male lunges on top of the man following another, and they begin tearing into the man, biting him all over as he shrieks in pain. One of them bites him over the face, tearing his cheek apart revealing the teeth underneath, and he starts choking on his own blood. His eyes still moving about, the last thing he sees before everything starts fading is Nick standing over him and the monsters in utter amusement, even leaning in closer for a better look.

After having his fill hearing the man no longer making any sound, Nick comes back over into the light exposing his entire mouth covered in blood that drips onto his once white shirt, and walks over to them calmly stating, "I call shotgun." Strolling right past them both straight into the passenger side of the car. 

Daniel and Allan share a worried look to one another, before the two of them go over to the car. Daniel hops in the driver seat and Allan goes into the back, turning the car on they see some blood spatter made it on the windshield and the bright lights exposes the fresh corpses laying about along with the other bandit still being devoured by the undead who pay no mind to them. Flipping on the wipers, it only smears the goo around and Daniel just mutters, "Screw it." The engine revs and the three drive off into the night. 

Nighttime takes hold as the van Madison and Taqa arrive swiftly outside the Bazar. The van also being the same one they left in the Alacrán's outpost in. Opening up the doors to the resturaunt, Lee and Strand walk outside and see the two of them sitting in the front seats. Sliding the backdoor, they hop inside and Madison looks to the two of them who situate in the back.

Noticing the fresh bruise on Strand's eye, she looks to Lee and asks, "Is everything alright?"

"I fell." Strand derides, glancing over at Lee who scornfully stares back, "Nothing to worry about."

Noting his mendacious attitude, she just replies with a meek, "Okay..."

Lee then ponders to the two of them, looking around the back seeing nobody else but an extra amount of ammunition and weapons, "So where's your friends at?"

"Not a problem anymore." Answering sternly at the driver's wheel, twisting his hand giving that rubbery sound on the steering wheel, leaving them both confused.

"So...Where to now?" Strand lingeringly quizzes.

Madison turns back to the front of the seat and announces, "We are heading to the Narco Tunnels not far from Mexicali at the border, I want to make sure Ramón's daughters made it safely. After that, Santa Fe is our destination."

Befuddled by her replies, the two in the back look over at each other with a puzzled look, as the car starts back up and the group rolls into the night.

Flashing back earlier midday, driving in the van they arrived at the Bazar in, Madison and Taqa sit in the back still handcuffed while Rafael's men sit in the front. Coming down the dusty road, nearly a mile from Brokejaw Ranch, Madison directs, "Take a right up this next road. It'll lead to a hill overlooking the ranch." 

Turning the wheel on the next road, the goon in the driver seat complies and looks to his brother-in-arms scoffing in spanish with an unsettling smile, "Te preguntas qué planea hacer Rafael con ella después?"

"Se la daría a esos motociclistas sucios. Vale la pena nuestro tiempo." The other returns with a fuming tone of voice.

Listening to them in the back, noticing they are distracted and feeling unsettled, Madison pulls out the bobby pin and motions to Taqa mouthing, _"Now_ ". Picking the lock, in a few seconds it comes undone which surprises Walker.

" _Where'd you learn that_?" He whisperers to her.

To which she replies confidently, " _You think this is my first time in these?_ "

Leaving him with a soft smile, as they come over a bump, she uses the motion to lob the pin over to him and he catches it, starting to pick his own. Just as it comes undone, they come to a stop on the hill. The two men step out of the vehicle, looking out to the two's scorched former home in awe. While not as many as there were before, infected are scattered around the complex like cockroaches.

Opening up the backdoor, they pull the two out, as they try hard to keep the handcuffs looking like they are still on. Motioning towards the bunker on the edge of the ranch, she points out, "That's where all the supplies are kept, that should keep you all plenty of happy for quite a while."

  
"Santa mierda..." The driver says turning away from her, along with his friend overlooking the field. 

Flipping her arms down, the cuffs snap off and before he can react, she rips the gun out his holster. Aiming it right at his head, while his friend hovers over his own holster, she capers, "Unless you want your friend to die, I wouldn't."

Taqa slaps his cuffs off also, and with their submission, he starts stripping them of their weapons. They glare at him, but he just smiles, pulling the knives and guns out of their pockets. 

Watching as Taqa throws the weapons in the car while grabbing his own pistol to draw on them, the driver threatens, "You making big mistake señora."

Cocking back the hammer on his SAA, she presses her finger against the trigger pressing, "Like letting you get what you want so you can just sell us to The Proctors later? Don't make me laugh."

"Jefe Mano will have your head for this." 

"'Jefe Mano' will just have to deal with it. I have bigger things to take care of right now than to worry about him." Furiously extending her arm at him, "Now you are going to tell me where The Proctors are heading and where they took my friend's daughters. Maria Lu said something about 'narco tunnels'."

Having a stare down, the driver reluctantly admits, "El motociclistas have a trade with a group in the states. Santa Fe, jefe told us. Your amigo's children likely taken to border of Mexicali. We don't know where the tunnels are, but we meet in americano outpost to trade medicina."

"Thank you." Madison sarcastically mutters, smiling as she lowers the gun. "There's vehicles down there still operational, supplies are in the bunker. If you clear the infected, Rafael can have as much as he wants."

Despite being at the disadvantage, the goon next to the driver starts giggling, "Heh, Lo siento señora, it don't work like that. You betray the jefe, and he will hunt you."

Opening up the driver side door while Taqa gets into the other side, she stops at the door and sneers at the spanish men, "If that's how you want it, remind your jefe of what I did to the Bazar."

Slamming the door, they turn the car on and begin driving off. Looking in the rearview mirror seeing the men scowling at them, Walker glances to Madison and says uncertain, "Was it smart to leave them alive?"

"If I didn't, they'd start a war for sure." She reaffirms.

Looking down towards the floor, he depressingly exclaims, "That may be the case anyways."

"Maybe, but they'll realize it soon enough." She states in resolute.

"Realize what?"

Looking over to him with a steely gaze, she tenaciously declares, "People like him may think they are kings of this world, the ones who think they are untouchable, the ones who instill fear into other's hearts to control them, but they'll realize it soon enough; _We_ are the ones these pricks should fear."

Pacified, he leans back into the seat content as the two drive into the desert awaiting to reach their fateful destination.

In a new vehicle, arriving early the next morning, the two goons of Rafael show up to his complex. At the gate, they are approached by armed guards, who inspect the empty backseat. Fuming at their hesitation, the driver hollers, "Vamos, pendejos! Tenemos que hablar con el jefe, ahora!"

Hearing his words, the signal the men on top, and they stand back opening the gate up. Peeling into the gated complex, they drive straight around the roundabout with the fountain, rolling and stopping in front of the large building. Rafael and a few of his men exit the building, following Maria Lu and her crew out of another building. 

Hopping out of the car quickly they run to Rafael, stuttering, "Lo...Lo siento jefe...jefe Mano, tomaron nuestras armas y nos dejaron en el desierto para morir. La madre... y su amiga... se han ido."

Shushing them in his eerily calm demeanor, he asks, "Está bien, está bien. Cálmate. Dónde están ahora? Cualquier cosa ayuda a mi amigo."

"Los túneles, en el oeste. También Santa Fe."

"Perfecto." A big malicious smile careens across his face as he hears this and utters back,

"Comuníquese con Deathstalker. Dile que tengo una misión para él. Dile que El Hoyo necesita nuevos miembros."

Turning over towards Maria Lu, his grin shifts to hauntingly serious, and she begins shaking her head side to side with her eyes moisturizing as he starts walking to her. Lowering her head, she begs to him, "Please. Please no."

Grasping under her chin, he pushes her head up to be eye level with him, and pronounces, "Shush now my asiática señora. You've played your part and you played it the best you could. You've served your purpose, and now it's over." 

Letting her go softly, he lifts his arm and swirls his fingers up in the air. A bunch of his men grab Maria Lu and the other three members of her crew, pressing them up against the wall. Crying out to him, she frightenedly pleas to no avail, "Please Rafael! Please!"

 ***Bla-a-a-a-m!***  
All their guns fire in unison, splattering blood against the wall, as Rafael casually walks away lighting a cigar muttering to himself, "No puedo confiar en una serpiente..."

Arriving near the city of Santa Fe in the night time the next day, unsure what to find, Nick ponders, "So how do we know where to go? This settlement could be anywhere, it could be-" Coming upon a giant street sign, sprayed all over where it proclaims to be 'Santa Fe' would be. In spray painted giant black lettering is ' **592 NORTH, LIGHTS ARE ON** '. "Well holy shit." reflecting upon his statements.

"I guess north." Stating the obvious, Allan adds.

"We should remain careful. If the Proctors were coming here, then we should remain cautious." Pointing out, Daniel pushes. 

Driving through the cityscape, they notice the infected all over the closer they get towards the inner city. All hospitals, police stations, colleges, they pass by are swarmed with undead and downtown they notice empty army barricades, so they take the long route to avoid them as they are also overrun.

Reaching the outer reaches of the city the further they go north, the brighter the illumination in the distance gets.

They slow down to an almost creeping halt as Daniel takes note of the light in the area, looking towards the two, with Nick sitting up front and Allan in the back, he asks, "Should we continue?"

Allan stressfully forces upon him, "If we made it this far, we might as well."

"We'll park a ways away and sneak in, see what we are up against." Positing to them both, to which they agree.

The car rolls onwards and they continue towards a light brightly lighting up the night. Arriving in woodlands full of trees and bushes comparatively to the barren originally, Daniel sneaks on the other side of the road of the disguised building full of luminescence brightening up the night. 

Turning the key but leaving it in, he shuts the car off along their headlamps, looking at the three he notes, "If they haven't seen us yet, they won't."

Stepping out of the vehicle, a couple miles away from there, all three walk from the woodland area and towards the building. 

"That desert to this? This is a new experience." Nick quietly spats, sneaking closer to the large building that gets bigger the closer they get. "Should we go to Las Vegas after this? Should be right on the other side of the mountains."

"Keep your mind clear and on the objective." Shushes Allan, as all three slowly gravitate towards the complex. Seeing Nick's hands shaking, incapable of sitting still and periodically rubbing his head, dropping a little distance from Daniel, he looks to Nick and whisperingly questions, "How are you feeling?" 

"Like shit. What's new?" Nick replies in the moonlight revealing he's also sweating heavy.  
Nodding, and taking his withdrawal into consideration, coming to the side of him closer, he adds,

"You'll be fine, just got to work through it. I know how you are feeling."

"Everyone loves to say that when they don't know shit." Snapping at him, while bumping his shoulder moving past him to which Allan briefly stops and returns with an icy glare before continuing on again.

Coming upon the large singluar building lit up like Christmas with spotlights all around, they notice a tall reinforced fence stretching all across the facility with barbed wire wrapped on top. Walking around the fenceline, they notice gaurds posted on the roof surveying the area. Smelling something awful, wrapping their arms around their nose, they glance roughly 20 feet to the side and see a giant crater filled with burned corpses of what seem to be infected and an unmanned heavy duty digger sitting outside of the hole.

Coming around the fence towards the front gate, Daniel peers over the side and sees two armed guards out front dressed in civilian clothes chatting with each other with large military vehicles all around. Halting the other two lingering behind, he turns to them and whispers, "This place is heavily guarded, more than we think. We won't be able to just sneak in."

"If Alicia is in there, we have to somehow." Quietly, but exasperatingly, Nick relents.

Leaning back around the corner, he sees the gaurds still in the same spot and asserts, "If we strike now, we put ourselves in danger and then we aren't any good to anyone. Think Nick. We leave and come up with a better plan in the morning."

Frustrated, a vexed Nick just grunts and the three of them leave the area. 

Coming back to the car on the road, they go to get in the vehicle, when Daniel sits back in the driver seat and suddenly becomes perplexed. Going to turn the key, he notices the slot to be empty. Jumping out of the car swiftly, immediately scanning around their surroundings, Nick and Allan look to him confused.

"What's the matter?" Nick says, as both him and Allan are puzzled by his actions.

Pulling out the gun from his holster, he alarmingly declares, "Get out of the car now."

Just as Nick cracks the door back open, wearing night vision goggles and heavily armed, several men come from the bushes all around them, surrounding the trio. Green lights from the stranger's headwears start appearing all around them, and with no options, Daniel drops his gun muttering, "Mierda."

One of the men runs up and snatches it off the ground, before quickly returning his M16 at Daniel interrogating, "Who the hell are you people? Were you going to try and rob us? Tell your community about us? Cause that'd be stupid from where I'm sitting."

"We're nobody, saw your sign on the street." He answers solemnly, watching as the other men hold up Nick and Allan dragging them out of the vehicle.

"Really?" The man chuckles decked out in military gear, "Most people would knock on the front door, not sneak around someone's home like a couple of rats. Boss is going to want to see this..."   
Waving his gun towards the building, the men push the three of them going, "Let's move! Go!"

Arriving at the gaurded walled in complex, the three being led at gunpoint by roughly ten men, stand in front of the gate. The one that spoke to Daniel pulls out a radio and calls to inside, "Hey boss, we got something interesting out here you'll want to see."

" _What is it Jayden_?" The voice statically echoes.

"Oh you'll love it. Meet us at the front gate."

After a couple minutes, the gate opens up. Mutliple gaurds swarm out of the vicinity as the leader steps in from behind them. Stepping in front of the imprisoned trio surrounded by his men, Daniel's mouth drops in total shock. 

Stuttering to spit it out, the injured old man blurts out, "Will...William?"

Revealing himself to be none other than his daughter's lost love (played by Ashley Zukerman), wearing a buttoned up shirt tucked in his pants professionally, he reciprocates with his own surprised and formal, "Mr. Salazar?"

Standing idly under the moonlight in front of the large fortress, the two stand face to face in complete awe. 

_**Writer: BetterAngels195** _


	6. The One That Got Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Allan acclimate to their surroundings as Daniel confides with an old piece of his past, all the while awaiting the eventual return of the violent Proctor John and his vicious gang. On the other side, Madison and company attempt to find the location of the tunnels where Ramon's children are said to have been relocated to.

**DISCLAIMER: This is a non canon fan written story. All characters from the TV show are owned by AMC and Robert Kirkman, not me. I'm just a dude. All original creations are mine though.**

In front of the heavily structured building with a white flag beholding a darkened Ouroborous insignia flapping in the wind on the outskirts of Santa Fe in the nighttime before; Daniel, with Nick and Allan standing around him in front of armed guards revealing a startling, "William?"

Amid his well armed men, the man reverberates, "Mr. Salazar?" Both mind boggled by the revelation, he quickly ushers his men to stand down proclaiming, "Put your guns down now!" 

"These guys were snooping around, planning who knows what?" Jayden looks to his leader and protests.

Fuming, William hollers back, "Just listen to me goddammit! I know this man!" The men around him stand down, lowering their guns on the trio and he exhorts to Daniel, "God, after all this, I thought you were dead. Ofelia, is she...?" Hearing her name, Daniel lowers his head, sorrowfully shaking his head side to side, which causes William to sniffle and he painfully bellows, "Damn it..."

Piping in, Nick asks, "You know each other?"

Looking over towards the teenager, wiping his tears away, William returns with a follow up, "I'm sorry, and you are?"

"Nick Clark. I've been with Daniel and his family since this started. The hairy man next to me is Allan, a drifter we met on the way here." Revealing to the leader. 

Nodding to his admission, William professes, "It's a pleasure Nicholas Clark and Allan."

"Just 'Nick', please."

"Noted." Turning his head back to Daniel, he notices the bandage on his cheek and invites, "You're injured? We'll have our doctor check you out and change those for you. Your friends can have one of our spare rooms after an inspection for bites. Can't be too careful these days." Looking to his men, he demands, "Bring them inside, get my friends here some accommodations and have him checked out."

Halting his words for a moment, he then looks at them and insists, "We will however have to take your guns and any other weaponry you have. If you'd hand them to Joanne over there..."

"That's not happening William." Death glaring, Daniel defiantly retaliates. "Our guns stay with us. What would we have to protect against you otherwise?"  
"Mr. Salazar, you can trust me. There's nothing to worry about here, you are in good hands." Pleading to him pointlessly.

"I don't trust anyone these days, least of all a man who tried to court my daughter." Daniel says, snapping back. "Trust works both ways."

Starting to raise their guns back up, William quickly ushers them down. Looking at the three, then to Jayden, who's worryingly shaking his head in disagreement. Heaving a giant sigh, he then permisses,

"Fine. But you'll all be monitored while you stay here. Feasible?"

Daniel agrees, nodding to him, and the group ushers them all inside, escorting the trio towards the complex.

Wheels screech to a halt outside of an abandoned american military outpost in the early morning. The doors pop open and out of the van steps Madison, Walker, Crazy Dog and Strand. Hearing the sounds of dead screeching behind the fences, they reach the entrance and cautiously start to open it up.   
Inquiring and backing up from them hearing the noises, Strand protests, "Madison, running head first into danger is not a smart plan. If there were tunnels in there, those inside are long gone."

Looking back at his cowardice she sneers, "I don't think there are tunnels here. If these guys were smart, they'd have the meeting not far from home, but far enough to make sure those guys couldn't catch whiff. Maybe we'll find some evidence on where that could possibly be."

Swinging the doors open, the four of them venture into the outpost. Military trucks litter the area, with large green tents covered in sandy colored camo netting with a section of the area burned up. Hearing the snarls start up again, they turn to their left seeing an abundant of infected loitering about. Undead marines growl at one another, not noticing the group in the background. 

Realizing they are in the clear, Madison looks to her followers and declares, "Stay low and stay quiet. Look around for odd footprints, fresh food, fresh water, whatever you can find. Anything goes wrong, head back to the gate as fast as possible. Strand, come with me. Lee and Taqa, stay close and stay together." Agreeing to her words, the four of them start investigating around. 

Begrudgingly agreeing, Strand follows Madison towards one of the several tents, while Lee and Walker search the outside. 

The Proctors' vehicles roar through the sun beaten plains, coming just outside of Yuma into an abandoned Air Defense Base with The Proctors insignia sprayed all over. An infected stands idly in the middle of the road and a big truck plows right through it, entering towards the base. Proctors from inside rush out to the gate to open it up, and all the trucks form a line rolling inside. Parking all around the open space, everyone starts getting out of their vehicles. A couple of men rush towards the back of one of the carriers and helps Proctor John down. He irrelatively looks onto the property packed with at least fifty Proctors.

One of the men rushes up to him and queries, "You are here early? How's everything going at the Bazar?" 

Not saying much, John vexingly imparts, "Not good James, not good at all; we are all that's left. The plan's changed. Mobilize everyone, pack everything; we are all leaving as soon as possible."

"What about the deal?"

"Shit happens, shit changes. You and I both know this was an inevitability." Firmly retorting back to his man, John starts limping away from him towards the trucks. "Now go get it done. We have a drive ahead of us." 

Inside the truck Alicia sits in the back with Eddie, who leans over towards her and grievously murmurs, "John's on a warpath, this isn't good. You family did quite a number on us." She worryingly looks towards the front and he continues, "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out."

"Don't apologize, you tried at least. You could've got yourself killed for that." Returning back to him.

"Nahh, he needs me too much and I've known him too long to know any different." Sarcastically laughing at her comments, he stresses, "You need to be careful Alicia, he's just toying with you right now, you know that right? How do I put this? You ever go hunting or do any sports?" 

Darting her eyes around, looking for the words, she admits, "Guns were banned in my home because of our step, but my dad wanted to teach us how to hunt during one of our camping trips out to Frazier Mountain...at least he did at one time." Her eyes trail off along with her words, before returning back on course, "As for any activities, I did cheerleading one year and hated it. I wasn't too into sports, people would get way too serious and competetive..."

"But that's the point; 'competition'. The battle of wills between opposing forces. That rush you feel facing a foe and coming out of top; that's how he operates, that's how his brain works. He feeds off your contempt and your resistance simply gives him pleasure. Just play along and be careful, for eventually these games of his could become a little more...dire." Pausing her words, Eddie warns and posits, "I don't know why, but he likes you. Maybe it has to do with his sister, she was roughly your age when she died."

"What do you mean?" Surprisingly answering back, with Eddie opening his mouth to go speak in response before being halted by footsteps approaching the back.

Suddenly the backflap opens up and one of the Proctors orders, "John needs the both of you to change his bandages and fetch him his medicine."

Looking at Alicia, Eddie ushers, "Help me up dollface."

Helping him to his feet, as he painfully grunts, the two go to jump out the backdoor with men surrounding them both as soon as they get out.

**Fear The Walking Dead**

**The Forgotten Fear**

**A fan written continuation based on the series created by Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman**

Walking down the echoing hallways, Nick notices some multi-colored stained windows placed all over before stopping at one featuring the Virgin Mary holding an infant Jesus Christ with the holy light shining down on them. Looking around the area, he notes, "This was a church wasn't it?"

Acknowledging, walking with the three of them, William responds, "Indeed. Part of the fence came from the basketball court on the southside of the building, the rest of which we looted from nearby hardware stores to reinforce it. When everything started, we originally were directed to the military outposts, and were told they'd keep us safe. That lasted a week before those fell, but we managed to salvage some equipment. After finding this place, we made the signs for survivors and traders."

"That seems dangerous. The wrong people catch wind? Dead can't fire guns, but people can." Allan adds into the conversation cautiously.

"True," He agrees, then reckons, "But with the protection provided by my employer, I don't think we have much to worry about. If anything happened here, they'd surely regret it. I was a Business Operations Manager working for one of the most profitable companies in the country and with the deals we've made with local groups, we are essentially set. Once we gain a permanent source of clean water to trade, we'll be able to start rebuilding and expanding too."

Side eyeing, Daniel gives a subtle look to Nick walking behind. 

Stopping at one of the rooms, William directs Allan and Nick announcing, "You are free to walk the premises, with supervision of course. This will be your quarters for the time being, there's beds and if you are hungry, the kitchen is down the hall to your right. The chef here is an amazing cook and we have lots to choose from after digging through the food shelf, I recommend it." **  
**

The two of them walk into the empty clean room with a couple beds layed out and a cross hanging in the middle of the wall, while a couple guards stand outside of it. Shutting the door behind them, waltzing over, Nick plops on the bed. Allan wanders around inspecting the room, clasping a cross hanging off the wall and inquires, "Can we trust these people?"

Laying on the bed, looking at the ceiling, Nick responds confidently, "We have no reason not to yet. Daniel trusts this guy and I trust his intuition, mostly." Watching Allan pace the room, he retorts, "Look man, just relax. All we can do these days is wait until the other shoe drops and this right now is pretty comfy."

Daniel and William continue walking further into the complex, where William depressingly sighs, "I'm sorry I didn't make it back to your family in time. Ofelia, she was very special to me."

"And my daughter was rather smitten with you too." He returns as they stop outside a room with a sign tacted on saying 'Medical'. 

Facing one another, William lets out a soft smirk, directing with his arm and ushers him in stating, "We'll speak more in the morning. Dr. Lawrence will take a look at your wound, it looks rather painful, and afterwards I'll have a guard bring you to a room."

Daniel mutters a small "thank you" to which William reciprocates with a nod and he walks into the room, where the door shuts. 

Halfway into the night, Allan is awoken by the sound of heaving following a pained grunted slosh in a trashcan. Staring up at the ceiling for a brief second annoyed, he then sits up and adjusting his eyes through the darkness, sees Nick's shaded outline peering over the trash next to his own bed on the other side of the room. Shaking his head at the sound, he reaches over flipping the switch to turn the light on.

With the light blinding him, Nick falls over pulling his hand in front of the light exasperating, "Goddammit man..." 

"Figured you'd like a shine on your current predicament. Maybe it'd shed some light on your, issues." He ridicules, sitting upright looking at him.

Peeved, Nick jumps once more for the can and spews into it. Wiping his lips he rasps, "What the hell is your problem with me?"

"Besides the fact you almost got me killed the other day? Or besides the fact you are keeping me awake while I'm trying to sleep?" Sliding off his bed, Allan flops down on the floor a few feet away muttering to Nick, "Shut up. Now hurry it up, I'm tired."

Staring him down vexingly, Nick then quickly turns over and hurls into the can once more.

Opening up the flap to one of the tents in the morning, Madison shines a small flashlight around the tent despite the small bits of light peering through, seeing nothing but dust floating around with Strand standing behind her. Cautiously walking in, the two of them search around. Lifting up a can of beans, mold sprouting all around it, she repulsively grunts throwing it on the ground. 

Looking back to Strand who's inspecting a dirty water bottle, she queries, "So how'd the black eye really happen Victor?"

Leaning forwards giving that phony grin, he relents, "We had a mild disagreement, but we've kissed and made up since then. Don't you worry a hair on that pretty little blonde head of yours." 

"I'm not worried. I imagine whatever it was, you brought it on yourself. So what was it?" Stating aloud, calling him out.

Mouth agaped letting out a sheepish giggle, giving in, "I can't slip anything past you can I?"

"Nope, my bullshit detector catches you every time Victor." Giving out her own shallow smile as she spats with him. 

Sighing, leaning against of the tables he discloses, "I can't stay Madison..." 

"So you tried to run? That's it?" Raising an eyebrow, shrugging her shoulders at him grabbing another can chuckling, "Makes sense."

Clasping his nose and then rubbing his head, he acknowledges, "I'm a liability, I've only ever caused you and your family problems. If I stay, it's only a matter of time before I screw up again."

Grappling his shoulder as she walks towards the flap to the outside, she softly smiles and asserts, "You made a mistake and maybe you'll make more. So what? Running away is just running from the problem you need to face yourself. All that matters is what you decide to do from here on out."

Letting go of his shoulder heading towards the door, opening up the flap, she's suddenly greeted by a wandering marine infected who launches itself right into her knocking her to the ground. Strand struggles to pull out his knife, as Madison frightenedly gasps trying to fend it off, pushing her hand underneath it's chin. With it's teeth snapping at her dripping ooze on her face, Strand grapples the back of it's hair trying to pull it off her and then slams his knife down on it's skull. The blade clings on something hard, skipping off it's head, cleaving a huge piece of meat off revealing a metal implant underneath. Strand stares at the knife surprised, and fed up, Madison digs her foot underneath it's stomach flipping the creature over herself. Slamming on the ground behind her, she quickly hops up, looking over to see the creature spasming back on it's feet also. 

"Hand me the knife," She bellows and Strand complies, lending it to her, before she rushes at the deformed monster, jabbing the blade underneath it's neck. The infected's body finally goes limp and she releases the blade, with it falling to the ground completely lifeless.

Walking outside the tent, Taqa and Lee rush over to the two of them after hearing the commotion. Looking over to the side to see the other infected roaming about still unwavered, Taqa heaves, "Is everything alright?" Which Madison gestures, wiping the coagulated blood off her cheek. Pointing over towards a surveillance post, he relays, "We found some dried blood on the steps up there and hazy tracks leading south of here. It's a long shot, but it could be something."

Agreeing to his idea, Madison shrugs, "Might as well, what have we got to lose?"

Walking outside of the outpost, noticing the tracks fading more and more getting into the open space, Taqa kneels down brushing his hand on the ground hampered by the dwindling results.

Being a smartass, Strand rags, "I hear it helps if you taste it." The other three slowly turn towards him, giving off a sardonic look and he broodingly jests, "Bad joke?"

Turning back to the direction of the faded footprints, Taqa rubs his chin looking over a hill towards an abandoned construction site in the distance and proposes, "The direction was towards the south, maybe over there?"

Standing over him to the side, Madison asks, "How can you tell?"

Brushing sand lightly away, he reveals to them engravings in the dirt, "The one set of tracks seemed to drag, like a person was limping; digs into the ground more than a normal footprint."

"Better than nothing, I'll take it. We've gone too far to turn back now." Madison asserts, with everyone rallying behind her.

Sitting at one of the many tables alone with a room full of people eating breakfast in the church breakroom and holding a plate of his own, Allan comes over to a complacent Nick shoveling food into his mouth. Looking around, feeling eyes glaring on them, the disgruntled man stares at the food on his plate and seeing Nick engorging himself, Allan sticks a fork in it and starts smelling it. 

Swallowing his mouthful, Nick derides, "Just eat, it's not going to kill you." 

"Is that what you said to Daniel at that house the other day? Remind me how well that worked out for you again." Allan sneers back at him. 

"There's always going to be shitty people doing shitty things, but if we hide from the world and refuse to trust others? Might as well admit defeat, roll over and die." He states, reinforcing his ideology. "Not everyone is bad Allan. You're obviously not, if you are going all this way to save someone you don't even know."

"You don't what I am...and I think you don't know what you are either." Aggravatingly growling and eyeing him down, before reluctantly taking a bite from the a bit of peaches on his plate. Furthering the conversation after he swallows the fruit, he asks, "So where's your friend, Daniel?"

"Saw him a little bit ago walking the halls. He's been talking with that William guy all morning." Sticking his fork into a cut piece of spam, thrusting it in his mouth and chewing loudly, Nick speaks once more while his mouth is still full, "Break out of that shell man, there's women and children here. *gulp* If these guys were like, cannibals or raiders or something, I think we'd know by now."

"My lack of trust is the only thing that's kept me alive all these years." Stating, as he longingly looks onto a mother and her infant child eating.

Shaking his head with a disapproving smile, Nick cements, "No, it's just kept you from experiencing life."

Raising his upper lip exasperatingly, hearing the chatter from all around echoing in his head and surveying around seeing people looking at them both. Overwhelming him, Allan grabs his plate and growls, "I'm going back to the room for some peace and quiet." Snatching his plate up quickly and heading back towards the hallway. 

Coming upon the abandoned lot with a big sign outside saying 'BASTIANDSONS CONSTRUCTION, ALL VISITORS MUST CHECK IN WITH SITE SUPERVISOR' hanging off a fence. Seeing an opening on the side, they each crawl through one by one, inspecting all around seeing no undead. Pallets, large boxes, dumpsters, an unmanned forklift, a digger, and a couple bulldozers litter the area all around. In front of some pallets sits a giant cargo container. Looking on the ground they notice footprints leading towards it, along with out of it. Seeing a chained corpse on the outside of the container lying dead with a bullet hole in it's head, they walk around it scanning the area. Walking into the bunker filled with barrels, tool and a cable reel, with bits of sand lining throughout leading inside.

Noticing all the footprints all around with nothing more, a befuddled Madison inquires, "There's nothing? Maybe it's not here?"

Inspecting the ground outside the container, Taqa insists, "These footprints are fresh, no more than a couple days, there has to be something."

Moving some of the junk around in the container, Madison pulls over a wooden galvanized cable reel and reveals an entrance underground. After pulling the reel, a string barely seen through the dim orange hue of the lights inside leading far throughout the cave system suddenly pulls and a small bell chimes. 

With the bombshell of a revelation, she yells to the rest of the group, "Over here!" 

Climbing down in the tunnel halfway, everyone rushes over and Taqa asks, "How is it?"

Shining her flashlight in the tunnel halfway down the ladder, Madison exclaims investigating, "There's some rubble, a section is crumbled in, looks like an explosion happened in here. It also appears the lights are still on."

"Is it safe?" A wary Strand implores leaning down into it.

"Should be." Adamantly pushes, stepping further in.

One by one, the group drops down into the hole. Stepping over fallen rocks into the area, they see the lights stringed and nailed to the walls throughout the corridors. Noticing mine carts stacked with bodies, one of them on top being the rotting corpse of Colton (played by Michael Cosley from The Passage miniseries), and they see an open area carved out with lockers full of supplies. Sifting through the supplies, they look to one another validating their suspicions. Seeing the lockers full of guns, food and clothing, they instead ignore the supplies continuting to travel onward further through the tunells.

Coming upon a fork in the road with three separate paths, they each start scratching their heads unsure what to do.

Madison eagerly proposes, "If we just stand here gawking, we'll never know. We'll go down the one in the middle first." 

Opening his mouth to protest, Taqa instead gives in, to which everyone nods in agreement and they all set forth further down the tunnel. Coming behind them watching them leave, a shadowy outline appears on the wall illuminated by the dull light and then moves out of it.

"It's too quiet. Something doesn't feel right." Walker quietly accounts, standing next to Madison's side leaning closer. "I could've sworn I heard other footsteps a while back."

"You sure that's not paranoia and the echoing of our feet?" Deriding him.

Startling the group, a pebble bounces off the wall behind them letting out a haunting *clank*. 

Forming a phalanx formation, everyone huddles back to back and Taqa ridicules, "Still don't believe me?"

Pulling her pistol out, Madison orders to everyone, "Stay on your gaurd." Right as soon as she says it, the lights all around abruptly turn off leaving them in total darkness and Madison emits a shrill "shit" grappling for her flashlight. Flicking it on, she scans around and at the end of a tunnel she briefly notices a little girl wearing a casual white dress standing at the end ominously. As soon as she was spotted, the shadowed girl darts around the corner, confusing Madison. Lingering at the edge, her light starts to dim and the batteries begin to die. Leaving them in total darkness for a good couple seconds, the lights all around turn back on. 

Easing off each other's back staring all around, Madison relays pointing further down, "I saw someone, a little girl standing down at the edge. As soon as I seen her, she ran for it."

Skittish, Strand timorously makes a fuss, "This isn't good Madison, this feels like a trap. We need to leave now."

Agreeing with him, Lee then postulates, "I hate to admit it Madison, he's right. Though If we are walking into a trap, unfortunately we're already in it."

Looking at each end of the winding rocky corridors, straining her face, she imparts, "Keep your guns out and be ready for anything."

Continuing forward, they are suddenly met with a circular dead end with furniture, desks and a bed sprawled inside it. Hearing cries coming from behind the bed, Madison slowly walks over and sees sandaled feet sticking out. The others cautiously look around, with Taqa periodically looking behind himself. Timidly, she peers the corner and to her surprise, it's none other than the young Angelina cowering behind it curled into the fetal position. Kneeling down to reach for her, Angelina's head raises up and once more the lights go out. Trapped in darkness for a second, the lights flick back on and Angelina is gone.

"Madison!" Taqa disturbingly screeches.

Looking over in front of her friends and shadowed by them, she notices multiple pairs of feet. The antagonizers armed with assault rifles of a wide variety, knowing the jig is up, everyone drops their guns holding their hands up. Madison slowly integrates into her group being held up and sees the lead, a broad, bald mid twenties spanish man with a goatee holding a mean look scowling at all of them. Looking down she sees Angelina cowering behind his legs. With at least 10 of them all armed to the teeth having our heroes cornered, one of them starts pushing through the ranks to the front. 

Shocking our lead heroine, Madison starts lowering her arms with her mouth agape in awe. Pushing to the front of this group, is the long lost Luciana Galvez, who mutters a surprised and sheepish, "Madison Clark? Is that you?"

A smile grows on her face and she semi-cheerfully replies, "It is. It's been a while Lucy. How've you been? Mind lowering these guns?"

Luciana clasps the the main guy in the front's forearm objecting, "Por favor Rogelio, bajen las armas, está bien."

Looking at her worryingly, he eventually gives in, signaling the rest and they all lower their guns. Everyone from both sides looks to the three of them befuddled and in awe.

_Locking the door to his barber shop 'Salazar's Cuts' in downtown LA before the apocalypse, Daniel flips the sign to 'closed' and starts putting his hair equipment away. Afterwards, he sweeps the floor clean, wipes down the mirrors and with a proud smile looking at his clean shop, turns towards the back of the building. Sliding the curtains closed entering into the back room and heading towards the diner room, he passes by burning candles and towards his glowing late wife Griselda._

_"Como va tu dia?" She asks knitting something on the kitchen table._

_"lento. Mejor ahora que estoy contigo." Responding back, causing Griselda to blush. Walking over to her, he pecks a kiss on her lips, and rubs her back going, "Tú eres la luz en mis ojos."_

_Brushing her hands at him scoffing, she replies with a reddish cheeked grin, "Silencio, viejo tonto."_

_Sitting down at the table across from her, laughing together, he then looks despondently and remarks, "No he visto a Ofelia mucho últimamente. Pasa todo su tiempo con ese William."_

_"La chica está enamorada, Daniel, puedes culparla? Recuerdas cómo éramos cuando éramos niños?" Grasping his hand across the table she comfortingly states._

_"Sí, recuerdo que nos metimos en muchos problemas para."_

_Grasping his attention by grabbing and gently slapping his hand, she regards, "Estamos en otro mundo, en otro momento. Dejar atrás el pasado, junto con tus miedos. Está arriba, ve a hablar con ella."_

_Silent briefly, he rubs her hand and smiles, "Tal vez tengas razón, mi ángel."_

_Standing up from his chair, he walks around the corner and up a flight of stairs. Coming to a bedroom door, hearing Ofelia's giddy voice on the other end, Daniel briefly sits back and listens through the cracks in the frame._

_Inside the room, Ofelia lays on her bed speaking through her cellphone cheerily with someone where she professes out loud, "No I haven't told him yet, you said you were going to."_

_William's voice on the other end speaks, " **I'm setting up my house in Santa Fe right now, it's beautiful out here. The mountains in the region, the architechture of the city, the people in the area; you'll love it. I'll be back within a week and then we'll speak to him together, it's not a rush. I don't want to make you feel like I'm forcing you to do anything.** "_

_"You're not silly, this is something I want to do. I just...I don't know what he'll say. He's always so guarded." Her eyes droop down as she admits._

_" **It'll be fine, trust me. I'll win him over with my witty charm.** " _

_"And how are you going to do that?" With a soft smile, she giggles before an interrupting *Knock Knock* comes upon her door and she says to her lover sliding the ring off her finger and under her dresser on the side of the bed, "Sorry, someone is at my door. I'll speak to you in a little bit?"_

_" **Sure thing.** " William agrees, and the two kiss through the phone before the call ends._

_Looking towards the door Ofelia verbalizes aloud, "Come in!"_

_The door creaks open, revealing her father behind it and he walks in. Surprised to see him, Ofelia opens her one arms to him and leads him towards the bed. Daniel lingers around, slowly coming over towards her, before sitting on the bed across from her. Looking at her intensely, first without words, but then musters out a sheepish, "So, who was that?"_

_"You were listening behind the door Pa Pa, I could hear you." Calling him out, she affirms._

_Looking at his daughter profusely, he admits, "Lo siento, querida. I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just curious."_

_"I was just talking with William, he just arrived in Santa Fe and was telling me about the area."_

_"I see, so he took the job? How's that going to work with him being so far away?" Inquires a suspicious Daniel._

_Sitting further up on the bed, she bobs her head down and sighs, then looks to him dispirited and declares, "It's...going to be difficult, but we are working around it."_

_Nodding while inspecting the room, he then looks to her and interrogates, "Why do I feel like you are hiding something from me?"_

_Aggravated by his response, Ofelia denounces, "It's not my place to say. Please Pa Pa, not now."_

_Heaving with an irritated grievance, he solemnly grunts and gets up off the bed, walking towards the door,_

_"Lo siento. I just...I wanted to talk to you. We haven't in quite a while, I miss our conversations."_

_Right before he leaves, she dejectedly states, "I know, I'm not mad. We'll talk soon, I promise."_

_Doloreously bobbing his head, he turns and starts walking out the door, shutting it behind him. Coming down a couple steps from the stairs, salty liquid starts to drain from his eyes and he silently cries halfway on the stairs. Sitting momentarily, he wipes away his tears and continues down the stairs._

Returning back to current time, walking on the rooftop of the church, hanging out amid the cloudy skies survielling the surrounding woodland grown area, come a freshly bandaged Daniel and a content William. 

"I'm glad to have found you Mr Salazar. I'm sorry for your wife, she was an amazing and sweet woman...and Ophelia..." Choking up at the end, squeezing the words out. 

"Call me 'Daniel', William. The old world is dead, along with the customs."

"Sorry, it's habit at this point." The man says, laughing it off.

Reaching into his pocket, Daniel pulls out a large diamond studded ring and hands it over to him, admitting, "My Ophelia had this in her pocket, I believe it was yours."

A tear falls from his eyelids and to the ground, grabbing the ring from his fingers and falling back against a vent. A smile protrudes from his lips and he reciprocates, "A special ring for a special woman...I meant to ask your permission for her hand when I had returned, but, we know the rest. Thank you, Daniel."

"At the time, I can't say how well I would've responded to a man trying to take my daughter away." Glaring at his daughter's lover, he then looks back out towards the woodlands surrounding area and proclaims, "You're a good man William, perhaps I was too close minded. Then again..." Clenching his fists tight, he turns back to him and then slyly discloses, "Now, tell me about your deal with The Proctors?"

William's eyes widen with his mouth agape as a heated Daniel awaits his answer.

Coming down the dimly lit tunnels, Madison and company being led by Luciana's group end up at a strangely placed wooden door. Rogelio, the one Luciana confided in earlier, twists the handle and they all walk into a large series of connected hallways and rooms lined with concrete and metal. 

Walking through the various well made hallways, Taqa notices an american flag hanging above the doorway, noting "This wasn't just a narco tunnel was it? This was a bunker."

The spanish man Luciana confided in, Rogelio, speaks up, "Si. A military controlled bunker. Border control Muertos were flooding everywhere when we found it."

"Must've been a helluva find to nab this." Madison chuckles, looking around the area.  
Streaking his finger down the side of the wall, gathering the dust and smearing it between his fingers; Strand gaffs a grossed out, "I think it could use some remodeling, and some TLC." 

Madison, ignoring his comments, glares at him irritantly and then looks back to Rogelio.

"Not too long after we ran into our compadre here," Extending his arms out towards Luciana, "We ran into two americanos who told us of this place. It was a miracle find that saved us. The rest of the people here were rescued either from the dead or from other people, like our newest members that I gather you already know."

"Their father was a good man, but we know where that goes..." Sighing solemnly, Madison inquires, "Maria Lu called you 'freedom fighters'? She must've known you pretty well if she kept this place a secret from The Alacrán." 

"We prefer 'liberators'." Rogelio confides, "She understood our cause, for a price. She'd sneak slaves that those men would capture and send them to us." 

Angelina, walking with the group, spots her sister Isabelle walking at the edge of one of the hallways, charging towards her and leaps into her arms with glee. A cheerful Isabelle grasping her sister, looks at the group, noticing the familiar face and lowers her tone, resounding a despondent, "Qué hace esa bruja aquí?"

"Por favor, tranquilo. La conozco." Luciana jumps in begging her.

A relieved Madison walks towards the two and seeing her come closer, Isabelle grapples her youngest sibling, pulling her behind herself snapping at the older woman, "Get away from us! It's because of you our father is dead."

Visibly hurt from her words, Madison stops in her tracks and sorrows, with Luciana grappling her arm pulling her away, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay..."

Grimacing, the young woman snaps, "You done enough!"

Unmoving despite Luciana's actions, Madison heartfully remains, "I'll...I'll leave you be. I'm sorry."

Sniffling and wiping her nose, Luciana pulls her to the side and the two talk to one another as the rest of the group presses onward through the tunnels. Seeing her moist eyes, Lucy resounds, "I'm sorry with everything that's happened. It's great to see you. How's everything? How's Nick?"

"He's alive, for what I know at least...I can't say the same for the rest." Brushing her hand against her nose, sniffling, Madison returns, "Alicia was captured. The Proctors are taking her to Santa Fe and I'm running out of time to find them. If it's just the four of us, I'm not sure of our chances. But with help, maybe there's a possibility."

Turning away from her, Luciana shakes her head, and evades, "Rogelio would never go for it, he's the leader here, not me. The Proctors are monsters, but most of the people here are refugees. Many have never even held a gun."

"What about you? It can't be just happened chance we stumbled upon each other again?" Pleading to the spanish woman.

"I'm sorry Madison." Shaking her head back and forth, she recides, "This is my place, these are my people now, I must protect them. You are welcome to stay with us for as long as you need." 

Despondent, Madison mutters, placing her hands on her hips, "Thank you, but we can't stay long. We'll be leaving soon." 

Removing a hand, she claps Luciana's shoulder, and walks past her, to which Luciana turns her head to the ground downheartedly. Stopping Madison as she walks away, she implores, "I must ask you one thing before you go; don't tell Nick where I am. If he knows where I am, he will stop at nothing to find me and I can't have that."

"But Luciana..."

"Please Madison." Filled with resolve, she pushes, "His eyes, that look; cold and cruel. Envenenado por el diablo. I saw something change in him back at the ranch...or maybe it was always there and I just didn't see it. I know you have seen it too too, I can see it."

"I...I have." Looking away from her, Madison shamefully nods, "I promise, but I ask you to reconsider. If not, all I ask is to please stay safe out here Luciana."

The two share a hug within the tunnel, and while Luciana embraces her, Madison rests her head on her shoulder with her eyes hauntingly wide.

_Flashing back once more to his old home in LA, finishing closing up the shop and doing his chores, putting his scissors away, wiping the mirrors and sweeping the hair; a glum Daniel pulls back the curtain, and callously walks to the fridge. Opening it up, he grabs a gallon of milk, pulling out a glass from a cupboard, he begins pouring the beverage into it and takes a sip._

_Griselda almost finished knitting what looks to be an almost finished shirt on the table, stares up at her husband and sees the dull expression on his face, concerning a soft, "Qué pasa?"_

_"Sólo tengo mucho en mi mente," replying to his wife somberly, "Nada de qué preocuparse."_   
_"De qué se trata?" Disconcerted, she refuses his avoidance, brushes her hand at the table and ushers him to sit down._

_Taking her advice, he grasps his glass and comes over next to her and groans, "No puedo ocultarte nada."_

_"Que no puedes." Implacably stating as Griselda sets her knitting needles down, "Dime querida."_

_"Te quiero."_

_Leaning back in the chair still suspicious, she smirks, "Ni siquiera."_

_Daniel sputters out a quick snicker. Suspiring, he looks to her admitting sorrowfully, "Me preocupa."_

_"Por?"_

_"Ophelia. Ese imbécil William. Siento que la estoy perdiendo." He confesses, looking down towards the table shamefully._

_Grabbing his hands and once more pulling it towards herself, she equinamously assures, "Daniel...Ella ha encontrado el amor. Incluso si se va, ella siempre estará contigo; tal como lo he sido." Tears begin pouring in his eyes and she encourages, "Pon esos miedos en reposo, viejo tonto. Incluso si nos hemos ido, siempre estaremos contigo."_

_Listening to her words, he lightens up and professes, "Eres más listo que yo, mi ángel."_

_Smug, Griselda laughs, "Sí, por eso te casaste conmigo."_

_Laughing with her, Daniel gets up, walks over to her side of the table and the two kiss passionately. Walking through the front door, walking in on them, Ophelia giggles, "Am I interrupting?"_

_Sniffling, he wipes his face, happily smiles at her and embraces her company._

Still standing on the roofs of the old church building outside of Santa Fe with the sun high in the sky, William takes a step back looking away from Daniel in horror. Quiet for a moment, he sheepishly harps, "If what you are telling me is true, this could get real bad." Clasping his hands over his mouth and then dropping it towards the ground he furthers, "I never liked John, but my employer thought he was the man to get the job done and offered him a position in their empire. I said, 'it was only a matter of time before he'd try to take more'. Son of a bitch..." 

"You have walls, guns, manpower. He shouldn't be able to get through, should he?" Questioning his worriment. 

"Most of the people here are civilians, the few people we have that are trained won't be enough if bullets start to fly. This will become a bloodbath, with a five to one disadvantage." Grabbing onto

Daniel's shoulders he worryingly discloses, "Look, don't tell anyone you are connected with them and I promise I'll do my best to keep you all safe. This is a dangerous situation we are in. I'm going to notify Jayden and have him patrol the roads."

Nodding to his resolve, Daniel graciously utters, "Thank you William."

"For what?" 

"For everything you've done for us up until now. Maybe, I...I would have been proud to consider you my son-in-law and I'm sure you would've made my daughter very happy." The two share a comforting smile, with Daniel briefly landing his hand on his shoulder before he begins to walk away disclosing,

"I should find my friends, I imagine they've been wondering where I am and I hope they haven't caused any problems in my absence."

Watching him leave with a somber smirk, William remains stationary and then turns his head towards the distance with a unsettling expression.

The sun begins to set upon the horizon as Daniel, Nick and Allan chat inside the church's bedroom. Allan paces the room anxiously, while the other two sit across from each other on both the beds, as Daniel fills the duo in on the situation.

Irritant, Allan harps, "We need to leave now, before it's too late. We are but three people about ready to take on an army with nothing backing us but women, children and a few guys with guns."

"This was your plan to come here man, and now you are chickening out? Where'd that sudden change come from?" Nick spouts, calling him out.

Walking towards him, stopping in front of him giving Nick a cold stare, Allan protests, "And what use are we to her dead? The difference between then and now, is the fact we are now in a glorified death trap with no escape." 

Daniel sighs, "I hate to admit it Nick, but Allan is right; this place isn't safe. William wasn't expecting John for weeks and if he is coming now unannounced, no water, who knows what he might do."

Standing up, he pushes, "You both should start packing your things, we need to leave right away before we..."

Whistles begin to blare profusely outside of the bedroom doors, with footsteps from men hoofing it all around and a large pounding against the frame startles the trio. Turning the handle, sweating heavily, stands a panicked William who hoarsely announces, "They're here." 

Blasting through the dirt roads kicking up rocks and dust, several large trucks begin barreling towards the front gates. Stopping at the front all in a line, with one in the middle backing up towards the entrance. Two smaller military vehicles armed with mounted M60s and men on top of them arrive shortly behind the larger vehicles, parking on the side. Almost fifty Proctors emerge from every crevice of the vehicles, armed to the teeth, and begin marching up towards the front with a couple of them helping John down from the truck in the middle, along with Alicia and Eddie coming down by his side.

Staring at all the armed men at the top of the building and outposts, Proctor John snickers a bit before hollering, "William! Oh sweet William! Can any of you dear boys ask your highness to come down from his castle so we can have a chat?"

Peeking from one of the windows, Nick alarmingly looks at the rest of the group, relaying, "He's geared up for a fight alright. It looks like Alicia is standing next to him."

"At least you know she's alive." Daniel calmly stating to the fuming boy. 

William standing by the doors, looks to the three of them, heavily breathing and directs, "Stay here. If things go south, make a break for the alter. There's a trap door underneath that leads not far outside the building, it was used to hide slaves during the civil war. It won't do much good now with all the eyes outside, but if there's a fight, you could maybe slip out unnoticed."

"Thank you, William." Daniel mutters contently.

"De nada my friends. I promised I'd keep you safe, and I promised Ophelia I'd care for your family like they were my own." Valiantly declaring back before John's echoing 'William!', breaks his stance and he heavily shivers before breathing deeply to calm himself before pressing the doors open, looking once more back to the old man as he heads out muttering, "See you on the other side..."

With the multitude of Proctors standing by his side, John notices William walking out the doors and gleefully titters, "There he is, the man of the hour. I was wondering how long I'd be yelling before you'd gained the courage to come out here. I always thought our 'mutual friend' picked a piteous fool to run these parts, maybe I was wrong."

"What the hell do you want John? Why are you here?" Eyeing down the sickly man with a scowl, William interrogates.

"That's a helluva way to welcome a friend. A place to stay perhaps and some supplies would be nice?" Brushing off his glare with a sinister smile, John redirects. 

"We're not friends, we're associates at best and that's because our 'friend' made it behind my back. You have your own place, your own supplies. Go back there." William snides, looking all around at the Proctors clenching their assault rifles with sweat rolling down his cheek. "I have no room and no place for you or your Proctors here."

"I see...I'm curious, why do you have so many men posted? You seem ready for battle, like you knew a battle was coming..." He professes lowering his face, his grin unrelenting, "My 'place' has been burned to the ground, our deal for the dam has been lost, along with the water and many of my Proctors' lives. The way I see it, that means we are now nothing more than the rest of these peasants without purpose, killing for our meals and taking what we need to survive. Though something tells me you already knew that?"

"I'm not sure what you are getting at?"

The smile on his face lowers into a frown, pulling out his Luger and whistling to his men, returning back to the idle man, "Don't be coy William, liars sicken me."

A couple Proctors begin reaching in the back of one of the large transport trucks, pulling out and slamming five men onto the ground in full view of everyone, one of which being Jayden, all bound and gagged. Aligning William's men in front of their guns as everyone watches in the church, John raises his pistol to Jayden's head. Inside the building, Nick, Daniel and Allan survey with their eyes glued to the scene.

"I know your tactics, I don't get into business with others without knowing theirs full and well. Caught them sneaking around the roads and they told me some interesting things..." Pressing the gun further onto Jayden's head, he aggressively snarls, "Now answer my question; How did you know we were coming?"

Standing still, looking to the ground, William remains silent. 

"The silent treatment and the look of shame when the enemy realizes the opposition has them by the balls, I love it so." Finish his gloating, John's face changes slightly in movement, transforming the remnants of a smile into a cold hard line with eyes crunched and devoid of mercy, "Well allow me to clarify then; Nicholas! Soldado! Caveman! Get out here! Or everyone here dies!"

Watching from the inside, Nick looks to the other two, unenthusiastically pushing, "Shit, he knows we're here! We can't just stay here anymore!"

Daniel gulps and reluctantly halts him, "If we go out there, he'll kill us and still probably kill them; he didn't come here for us."

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't..." Allan mutters out peeking through the blinds. "I'm with Daniel on this Nick, your sister needs us alive."

Turning his head back to the rest of the people hiding in the backroom, Nick spots a little girl hiding behind her mother. Gritting his teeth, shaking his head, he looks at the door and begins walking towards it. Daniel grips his arm, but Nick just shakes him off declaring, "We need to do something! I'll do it, with or without you!"

Seeing the resolve in his eyes, he lets go and Nick continues forward.

Guns trained all over on him and his complex, William begs to the vicious biker leader, "Please John, there doesn't need to be a fight."

Placing his free hand on his heart, John unmoved snickers, "My boy, all I do these days is live for the fight; it's what keeps me breathing." Resounding once more, he yells, "Now you three better get out here now! Or I'll..."

Stopping his words, the door opens up and Nick solely walks out with his head held high. A skittish William observes while caught in-between, as Nick steps closer towards him. Alicia's eyes widen in horror watching her brother step onto the field, mouthing his name and shaking her head side to side.  
"Young Nick, how nice it is to see you again." Yelling out to him, then turns his head towards a fearful Alicia, "Isn't it so good to see him darling?"

"It's going to be okay Alicia, I'll get you out of this, I promise." Hollering out to his sister fretfully, whom she quietly glares in almost tears. Unfettered by his threats, Nick proposes, "There are innocents in here John, good people. Let these people go, I'll go with you willingly and you can do whatever you want with me. Please, leave my sister out of this."

Seemingly taken back by his words in a brief silence, Proctor John starts maniacally laughing and responds, "You talk like you are in the position of negotiation. Oh the Junkie Christ, so willing to die for other's sins. You seem to forget everything your friends and family have done to my brothers, our home. You think I'll just let that slide, shake hands and walk away?" 

"I want to end this without further bloodshed."

"Still trying to find that third way aren't you? Nicholas Clark while I admire your suicidal tenacity, you never learn." Continuing to giggle, William looks to Nick and John's face becomes suddenly still, furthering, "I told you boy, there isn't another way and I gave you a choice; all three of you come out, or everyone here dies...And unfortunately, you chose the other."   
***Blam!***

A bullet fires from the Luger, tearing into Jayden's skull, spewing brain matter all over the dirt and his body drops to the ground, following the rest of his small crew. All raising their guns, the Proctors in unison begin firing madly onto the complex, a few get into their mounted machine guns and start spraying without concern. William's men fire back, but one by one they begin dropping from their posts and amid the firefight one Proctor fires upon William and Nick. Without hesitation or concern for his safety, William turns around quickly and shields Nick, pulling him behind himself just as a bullet rips into William's back.

Inside the building people panic and begin rushing towards the trapdoor as the bullets tear through the concrete, hitting people unforgivingly. Daniel and Allan stay behind hiding low against the brick wall, clenching their weapons. Looking at the carnage befalling them, a bullet tears through the wall and strikes the mother who's carrying her daughter right in the neck. Dropping to the ground, her child crouches over her Mother screaming bloody murder as tears stream down her cheek. 

Outside avoiding the fire, Nick quickly drags William behind a wooden crate. Spitting up blood, the mortally wounded man grabs ahold of Nick's shirt and pulls him close muttering shakily, "I have to tell you something... Nick." Coughing crimson liquid all over himself, he whispers silently into Nick's ear, causing the boy's eyes to widen in a revelation. Pulling back and letting him go, William snags the gun out of Nick's hand, demanding, "Get out of here, I'll cover you...Now go!"

Nick sprints from behind the container and rushes to the door. The Proctors advancing forward begin to draw their guns, but William peers over the corner of the box and fires upon them, drawing their attention away. One of the bullets pierces a Proctor's neck, while another clips a biker in the leg. In retaliation, they spray the container and bullets tear through, sending multiple gaping holes through William's torso. 

Daniel peaking through the blind watching this happen, becomes infuriated and starts firing from the window, giving Nick further cover fire. A bullet zips past Proctor John, who softly grins and fires back. Just as Nick is about to reach the door, Proctor John raises his Luger lining up the shot to him. Alicia seeing this happening shrieks, lunging at the brittle man and slapping his gun down, fuming as he watches his nemesis get away.

Enraged, John pistol whips her and knocks her to the ground. With Alicia holding her face face, he orders to his men, "Get her out of here! Now! And search the place top to bottom! Any survivors, you bring them out front and line them up!" Waddling over to the container where the bullet riddled William was cowering behind, he sees the man still breathing and disappointedly acknowledges, "You've earned my respect William, it's a shame things had to go the way they did. I kind of liked you in the short time we were acquainted, but alas, all good things must end."

Spewing up blood, barely breathing and slouched against the crate barely able to keep himself up, William defiantly sputters out, "Go...to hell...you piece of shit."

Without an ounce of expression, John raises his gun to the dying man's head and responds, "My friend, we are already there."  
 ***Blam!***

Nick bursting through the door, upsettingly looking upon the carnage inside with grave regret, then looks to his comrades and the three rush to the alter. Seeing the little girl crying over her mother, Nick stops and urges the young girl into his arms, lamenting to her, "I'm sorry, but you have to come with us. I'll protect you. We can't stay here sweetheart."

The girl cries "Mommy..." but seeing Nick tearfully extending his arms, she jumps into him and he carries her away.

Allan shortly behind him stops, waiting for the little girl to go far enough away to not see, looks at the dead woman and swiftly drops his machete into her head. Grunting regretfully, he irritantly moves towards the group of people and allies running towards the hidden exit. Seeing multiple people too injured to move and people with loved ones refusing to leave, Allan bypasses them all moving forward among the several others running to the same place as Nick and Daniel usher the group of civilians into the alter, with Nick handing the child down to someone underneath the trap door.

Proctors burst through the front door just as the trio start to make their way down. Seeing the people at the alter, one of the bikers starts to fire at them, but Daniel pokes his head from the alter, fires a couple shots back, blasting the man in the chest and knocks him to the ground. Hearing further men coming, Daniel hurries down and pushes everyone to run through the tunnel.

Exiting outside just outside of the fenceless ballcourt from a manhole outside of the church, people begin to scatter in all directions, with the trio among them. One Proctor notices them emerging out and starts to fire his AK-47 at them screaming, "Outside near the woods! Let's get them!"

Just as the group of bikers go to chase them down, a triumphant John halts them, "Leave them be! We got what we came for."

Lining several stragglers who didn't get away in front of the building's main door, one of the Proctors breaks away and directs John to one of them noting, "They escaped through a hatch underneath the alter, but we got their doctor at least."

"You win some, you lose some. Such as life." Proctor John snickers and hobbles over to the doctor, a gangly African-american with a long white overcoat. Looking down at the wound in his leg, John mocks, "Good thing you are a doctor, Mr. Lawrence, that looks serious."

"It's a flesh wound, I'll survive. How's that back of yours doing John?" The man returns back to him defiantly. 

The cocky smile on his face degrades and John turns around, ordering to his men while looking at Eddie who's looking over Alicia in the back of one of the trucks, "Spare the doctor, we might a need a _replacement_."

Tending to her cheek, Eddie distresses, "You shouldn't have done that."

"I don't care, he would've killed my brother if I hadn't." She resists and harps back.

Looking outward on the scene of destruction among the complex, he swallows in shame and denounces, "This is not going to end well...for anyone."

The sun drops from the sky and just before the dusk of the evening, a familiar van drives through the outskirts of Santa Fe down a dirt road. Behind the wheel, Madison and company see the smoke from afar and start to slow down. Pulling on the brakes, they slow down and look in horror.

"That must be what they were talking about, looks like a war happened there." Madison heeds to her accomplices.

Taqa observes calmly, "The Proctors have no doubt been here. We need to think of a another plan, we can't take an army with just the four of us."

Worried, Strand joins in and predicates, "This is a losing battle Madison, if we advance any further they'll no doubt spot us and kill us."

Squeezing the wheel anxiously, she snorts through her nose and grunts, "My daughter is in their Victor, don't talk like that. We'll think of something, let's just get out, go on foot and see what we are dealing with. There's a Ski lodge up the mountains not far from here, if we run into any trouble we'll head there." 

Reluctantly, Madison steps out of the van and as she takes a couple steps forward, a stick breaks in the background. Paranoid, she draws her weapon and circles around the area seeing nothing but several infected lingering far in the distance. Jolting back to the rest sitting in the car, another stick breaks and she's halted by the safety of a gun clicking behind her.

A deep, gravelling voice speaks to her from behind calling from the bushes, "Don't make any sudden moves. We need your vehicle, tell your friends to come out and..."

"Allan, stop!" A familiar voice to Madison hollers from the distance. Running out into the open in front of her view, tears begin to swell in her eyes and she almost begins to break. Stopping in the open, the other three in the vehicle open their doors, gaping their mouths in shock as the long lost Nick emerges from a bush. Looking to the awestruck middle aged woman, he softly, but not returning her excitement by callously regarding a blunt, "Hi mom."

Allan emerges from a bush, lowering his gun confused and Madison side eyes behind her to see him, but then quickly reverts back to her son. The rest in the vehicle pull their doors open and step outside; Taqa and Lee step outside first, while Strand departs last. 

Just as Strand leaves the confines of the vehicle, the click of a gun happens once more behind him and he exasperates, "Ahhh shit."

Turning around, he raises his hands in surrender and sees the gun trained on him along with the person holding it. Emerging from behind the van with a gaping patched hole in his face, a scowling Daniel menacingly points his weapon and heralds, "Hello, Victor. Did you miss me? Because I promise you, _I won't_."

_**Writer: BetterAngels195** _


End file.
